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BROWN 


THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

THE  ROMANCE  OF  WOULD-BE  FOUNDERS  OF  EMPIRE 
IN    THE   EARLY  DAYS   OF  THE    GREAT   SOUTHWEST 


AARON  BURR 
American  conspirator 


THE 

GLORY    SEEKERS 

THE    ROMANCE    OF    WOULD-BE    FOUNDERS 
OF  EMPIRE  IN  THE  EARLY  DAYS  OF 
THE    GREAT    SOUTHWEST  . 

BY 

WILLIAM   HORACE   BROWN 


WITH    SIXTEEN    PORTRAITS    AND    SIXTEEN 
ILLUSTRATIVE    INITIALS 


CHICAGO 
A.    C.    McCLURG    &    CO. 

1906 


COPYRIGHT 
A.  C.  MCCLURG  &  Co. 


1906 


Published  April  14,  1906 


THE    UNIVERSITY   PRESS,  CAMBRIDGE,  U.S.A. 


FOREWORD 

OVER  the  scenes  of  the  exploits  traced  in  these 
pages  the  sun  of  glory  is  now  high  risen.     The 
wilderness  has  been  transformed  into  proud  and 
populous  States.     Men  whose  daring  and  ambition  out- 
weighed their  sense  of  justice  prevised  in  early  days  the 
quick-dawning   greatness  of  the   land.      Eager   for  pos- 
session,  while  yet   it   was  a  wilderness,  their  ;  predatory 
enterprises  smacked  of  mediaeval  violence.     Usually  of  des- 
perate spirit,  they  staked  their  lives  on  the  venture,  to 

"  —win  their  way  with  falchion's  force, 
Or  pave  the  path  with  many  a  corse. " 

Sheep  now  browse  over  thousands  of  unmarked  graves 
of  adventurers  who  invaded  Spanish  territory  bent  on 
conquest ;  for  in  almost  every  raid  they  paid  ^the  mortal 
penalty  of  their  rashness,  and  their  doom  in  some  degree 
absolved  their  transgression. 

Yet  not  all  of  those  reckless  gamesters  were  rude,  un- 
schooled desperadoes.  Among  them  are  numbered  youths 
of  education  and  respectable  connections,  whose  brief  lives 
lend  to  the  annals  the  glamor  of  wild  romance.  Their 


929862 


vi  FOREWORD 

deeds  are  hardly  registered  on  the  sedate  pages  of  national 
history,  although  for  decades  they  inspired  emulation 
throughout  the  South  and  the  West.  As  time  recedes,  the 
incidents  of  those  bold  days  will  diminish  in  the  historical 
perspective,  yet  they  will  continue  for  generations  to  fur- 
nish themes  for  story  and  drama.  Those  garnered  in  this 
volume  form  a  particular  group. 

W.  H.  B. 


NOTE   OF  ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

A  an  index  to  the  sources  from  which  these  chapters 
were  mainly  drawn,  and  also  as  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  obligation  to  them,  the  writer  gives 
the  following  authorities,  with  the  feeling  that  the 
first  three  in  the  list  are  entitled  to  special  recognition  : 
Gayarre's  "  History  of  Louisiana,"  Yoakum's  "  History  of 
Texas,""  Pickett's  "  History  of  Alabama,  Georgia,  and  Mis- 
sissippi," Humphrey  Marshall's  "  History  of  Kentucky," 
Monette's  "  History  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi," 
Footed  "  Texas  and  the  Texans,"  J.  H.  Brown's,  Holley's, 
and  ThralPs  histories  of  Texas,  Ramsey's  "Annals  of 
Tennessee,"  Hay  wood's  "  History  of  Tennessee,"  Martin's 
"  History  of  Louisiana,"  Thomas  Marshall  Green's  "Span- 
ish Conspiracies,"  Goodspeed's  "The  Province  and  the 
States,"  William  Jay's  "The  Federal  Government  and 
Slavery,"  Giddings's  "Florida  Exiles,"  Kendall's  "Santa 
Fe  Expedition,"  H.  H.  Bancroft's  "  North  Mexican  States 
and  Texas,"  Vol.  II.  The  principal  histories  of  the  United 
States  were  also  frequently  consulted. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   I 

PAGB 

The  Southwest  after  the  War  of  Independence — Adventurers  and 
Discontents  —  Spanish  Obstructions  —  Wilkinson's  Treason- 
able Enterprise  —  A  Spaniard's  Prophecy 15 

CHAPTER   II 

Plots  for  Disunion  —  Genet,  "Citizen"  Minister  from  France, 
Arrives  —  Attempts  to  Raise  an  Army  of  Conquest  in  America 
—  Much  Disloyalty  —  Bold  Schemes  Frustrated 39 

CHAPTER  III 

Wilkinson,  again  in  the  Army,  still  Conspires  with  Spanish  Gov- 
ernors —  Disgrace  of  Senator  Blount  —  Examples  of  Land 
Operations  —  Romantic  Career  of  Renegade  Bowles  ....  60 

CHAPTER  IV 

Wilkinson  and  Burr  —  Great  Panic  and  Little  Danger  —  Burr's 
Arrest — Wilkinson's  Baseness  —  The  Story  of  Madeline  .  .  83 

CHAPTER  V 

Philip  Nolan's  Expedition  of  Conquest  —  Visions  of  Empire  — 
Invades  Texas  —  Sudden  Disaster — Quaint  Memoir  of  Ellis 
Bean ,  .117 


CHAPTER  VI 

Continuation  of  Ellis  Bean's  Experiences  in  Captivity —  Becomes 
a  Mexican  Insurrectionist  —  War  and  Romance  .  142 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VII 

PACK 

Reuben  Kemper,  Buccaneer  —  Unlawful  Seizure  of  Baton  Rouge    161 
District  —  Early-Day  Terrorism  —  Characters  that  have  been 
Whitewashed  —  Grotesque  Campaign  against  Mobile  District 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Insensibility  of  the  American  Government  to  Wrongs  Committed 
by  South  westerners  —  Buccaneers  not  even  Rebuked  —  First 
Secession  Utterances  in  Congress  —  Opposition  to  National 
Growth  ...  ,  .  ,  179 


CHAPTER   IX 

The  Magee  Expedition  —  Soldier  and  Filibuster  —  Glory  Leads 
toward  Mexico  — «« The  Republican  Army  of  the  North"  — 
Success  of  the  Invaders  —  Strange  Death  of  the  Leader  .  .  192 


CHAPTER  X 

The  Invaders  Aggressive  —  Battle  of  Rosalis  —  Gachupins  badly 
Defeated  —  Victorious  Army  becomes  Demoralized  —  Vice- 
roy's Forces  Annihilate  it 215 


CHAPTER  XI 

Colonel  Perry's  Exploit  —  Joins  with  Aury  and  Mina  —  The  Tri- 
umvirate Descends  on  Mexico  —  Splits  on  the  Rock  of  Jealousy 
—  Mina  Captured  —  Perry  Returns  to  Texas  —  Dies  in  Battle  231 


CHAPTER  XII 

A  Cultured  Adventurer  —  Courtship  of  Doctor  Long  and  Pretty 
Jennie  Wilkinson  —  Long  also  Infatuated  with  Conquest  — 
Invades  Texas  —  Seeks  an  Ally  in  Lafitte  ." 240 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  XIII 

PAGE 

The  Invader  and  the  Corsair  —  Disasters  Afield  —  The  Garrison 
at  Bolivar — Jennie  Long's  Distress  and  Loyalty — A  Heroine 
in  the  Wild  ,  256 


CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Florida  Exiles  —A  History  Story  seldom  Told  —  Seminoles 
and  Maroons  —The  Horror  of  Fort  Nichols— An  Echo  from 
the  Everglades 273 


CHAPTER  XV 

Texans  Covet  New  Mexico  —  Ill-judged  Expedition  to  Santa  Fe* 
—  Mediaeval  Warfare  —  Texans  all  Prisoners  —  Predicament 
of  an  Editor  .  ,  ,  298 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Captive  Train  Started  for  Mexico  City— Terrors  of  the  Journey 
— Strange  Scenes  and  Experiences  —  Pestilence  and  Chains  — 
Liberty  at  Last 325 


INDEX  ,     339 


LIST   OF    PORTRAITS 

PAGE 
AARON  BURR,  American  conspirator      ....   Frontispiece 

GOVERNOR  ESTEVAN  MIRO,  Spanish  Provincial  Governor 

of  Louisiana 30 

GENERAL  JAMES  WILKINSON,  an  instigator  of  plots  with 

Spanish  Governors 46 

"  CITIZEN  "  GENET,  Minister  from  France  to  the  United 

States 50 

GENERAL  GEORGE    ROGERS  CLARK,    Revolutionary   hero 

who  espoused  Genet's  cause 54 

GOVERNOR  ISAAC  SHELBY,  of  Kentucky 58 

GOVERNOR  WILLIAM  BLOUNT,  of  Tennessee     ....  66 

GOVERNOR  WILLIAM  C.  C.  CLAIBORNE,  of  Louisiana  .     .  96 

ELLIS  BEAN,  of  the  Nolan  Expedition       .     .      .     .     .  128 

JOSE  MARIA  MORELOS,  Mexican  revolutionist       .     .      .  154 

XAVIER  MINA,  Spanish-American   revolutionary  adven- 
turer     234 

LIEUTENANT  ZEBULON  PIKE,  Government  explorer  of  the 

Great  Southwest 248 

MRS.    MYRA    CLARK    GAINES,    the    renowned    heiress- 
litigant      284 

GENERAL  EDMUND  P.  GAINES,  Commander   of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Southwest 294 

MIRABEAU  B.  LAMAR,  President  of  Texas 300 

GEORGE  WILKINS    KENDALL,    historian    of    the    Texas- 
Santa  Fe  Expedition 312 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 


CHAPTER"! 


The  Southwest  after  the  War  of  Independence  — Adventurers  and  Dis- 
contents —  Spanish  Obstructions  —  Wilkinson's  Treasonable  Enter- 
prise—  A  Spaniard's  Prophecy. 

HIS  is  mainly  the 
story  of  men  who, 
standing  on  the 
rugged  confines  of 
civilization  in 
America  at  an  early 
period  of  our  na- 
tional life,  sought 
distinction  by  at- 
tempting to  hitch 
their  wagons  to  the 
star  of  empire. 

In  the  tales  of 
early  American  ad- 
venture  we  en- 
counter some  picturesque  characters,  and  frequently  have 
fairly  to  gasp  for  breath  at  the  audacity  of  their  schemes. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  those  daring  spirits  who  operated 
in  the  Southwest,  that  grand  theatre  of  historic  melo- 
drama,—  of  perilous  exploits,  projects  of  conquest,  and 


16  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

dreams  of  sovereignty.  The  opportunities  that  unfolded 
to  their  visions  embraced  the  subjection  of  territory  ex- 
tending anywhere  itom  the  Alleghany  mountains  to  Yu- 
csttm  •  .f-QV  t.h'.e  most  part  they  probably  were  limited  to 
founding  a  republic  or  an  empire  in  the  vast  regions 
between  the  Lower  Mississippi  and  the  Rio  Grande  rivers. 
This  extensive  region  seems  to  have  excited  more  fanci- 
ful pictures  of  pomp  and  power  in  the  minds  of  imagi- 
native glory  seekers  than  any  other  part  of  the  American 
continent.  During  the  period  of  three  or  four  decades 
following  the  War  of  Independence,  all  paths  of  exploita- 
tion appear  to  have  led  toward  this  broad  domain.  That 
long  war  being  at  an  end,  left  many  men  inured  to  mili- 
tary life,  and  many  disappointed  politicians,  with  limited 
opportunities  for  the  exercise  of  their  singular  talents. 
Naturally  enough,  thousands  of  them  pushed  to  the  fron- 
tiers. To  the  west  were  desert  and  mountain  wilderness, 
to  the  northwest  an  unexplored  and  supposedly  barren 
region  peopled  only  with  savages.  But  beyond  Louisiana 
and  the  steppes  of  Texas  was  a  civilized  nation  numbering 
many  millions  of  people. 

The  strained  political  conditions  of  our  country  during 
that  era  and  the  chaotic  state  of  affairs  in  Mexico  com- 
bined to  incite  questionable  enterprises.  The  Mexicans 
were  struggling  fitfully  to  shake  off  the  oppressive  rule 
of  Spain,  encouraged  by  the  revolutionary  success  of  their 
northern  neighbors,  but  showing  neither  their  strength 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  17 

nor  singleness  of  purpose.  It  seemed  to  be  the  conviction 
of  all  that  the  vast  area  of  woodland  and  prairie,  fertile 
and  inviting,  lying  between  the  territories  of  the  United 
States  and  the  Mexican  frontier  was  destined  to  become 
at  an  early  day  prosperous  and  rich.  Texas,  a  Mexican 
province,  was  practically  uninhabited  and  neglected.  All 
it  required  was  to  open  the  gateways,  take  possession,  and 
invite  a  flood  of  immigrants  from  Europe,  from  the  At- 
lantic States,  from  everywhere.  That  done,  and  a  power 
established,  it  would  be  easy  to  seize  Mexico,  to  liberate 
the  people  from  Spanish  tyranny,  and  to  incorporate  the 
whole  in  one  grand  empire.  And  if  the  United  States 
should  by  that  time  be  having  trouble  in  steering  its  ship 
of  state, —  well,  the  grand  empire  might  then  expand  to 
the  eastward. 

Just  when  and  how  these  magnificent  schemes  had  their 
inception,  is  debatable.  They  were  not  original  with 
Aaron  Burr,  although  he  is  about  the  only  one  who,  in 
this  generation,  is  remembered  by  any  but  careful  students 
of  history  as  having  entertained  them  ;  nor  was  he  the  last 
who  attempted  to  bring  them  to  a  realization.  James 
Wilkinson  had  been  plotting  for  years  before  Burr  floated 
his  puny  rafts  down  to  the  Mississippi,  but  neither  was  he 
the  first.  The  Southwest  Territory,  before  the  erection 
of  the  States  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  teemed  with 
rugged  fellows  who,  for  one  cause  or  another,  had  designs 
on  Spanish  possessions.  They  had  marked  the  Floridas 

2 


18  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

and  Louisiana  for  their  own.  And  they  did  not  halt  at 
that.  They  schemed  also  for  the  dismemberment  of  the 
Union,  with  the  view  of  incorporating  its  States  and 
Territories  bordering  on  the  Mississippi  with  provinces 
to  be  wrested  from  Spain,  and  the  forming  of  an  indepen- 
dent government.  The  leading  residents  of  that  part  of 
the  Union  engaged  in  such  treason  almost  before  the  Con- 
stitution was  adopted.  They  plotted  with  and  against 
the  Spanish  provincial  governors.  The  latter  knew  they 
were  the  mark  for  constant  intrigues,  and  it  would  have 
been  quite  unlike  them  if  they  had  not  reciprocated  such 
compliments. 

Indeed,  the  ramifications  of  the  various  intrigues  dur- 
ing the  last  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  early 
years  of  the  nineteenth  were  so  extensive  that  an  essay  to 
portray  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  freebooters''  ex- 
peditions in  the  Southwest  would  be  futile  without  giving 
special  attention  to  them.  To  appreciate  the  predatory 
movements  of -those  gentlemen  of  the  high  hand  it  is 
necessary  to  outline  in  passing  the  history  of  Spanish  and 
American  relations  then  existing. 

While  we  find  romances,  there  are  also  ugly  spots  dis- 
closed in  those  early  American  annals.  It  is  just  as  well  to 
remind  ourselves  occasionally  of  those  stains,  lest  we  forget, 
in  our  tendency  to  idealize  indiscriminately  the  lives  of  our 
forbears,  that  justice  and  patriotism  were  not  always  the 
prompters  of  their  actions.  State  historians,  particularly 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  19 

of  the  section  now  considered,  have  sinned  constantly  in 
such  indiscriminate  praise.  They  have  sinned  both  by 
omission  and  commission.  Some  crimes  they  have  studi- 
ously concealed,  while  others  they  have  sugar-coated  and 
passed  along  to  posterity  as  virtuous  actions. 

The  American  people,  as  a  people,  can  well  afford  to  be 
candid  in  their  history.  It  is  but  justice  to  those  of  our 
forefathers  who  were  steadfast  in  loyalty  to  remember  that 
there  were  some  others  who  lapsed.  It  has  come  about 
that  in  the  minds  of  the  people  two  names  stand  for  all 
there  ever  was,  in  the  formative  period  of  our  nation,  of 
disloyalty  to  the  Union.  Arnold  and  Burr  are  the  only 
renegades  to  the  sacred  cause  of  a  free  and  united  country, 
and  they  are  made  to  suffer  vicariously  for  the  sins  of 
thousands.  It  is  just  as  well  to  uncover  some  of  the 
smaller  traitors  of  those  days  —  it  is  pertinent  to  the 
stories  of  our  adventurers. 

Late  in  1784  there  appeared  in  Kentucky  a  young  man 
of  exceptionally  plausible  manners  and  agreeable  presence. 
There  is  no  fiction  about  this.  The  stranger  was  a  force- 
ful embodiment  of  self-assertion,  self-possession,  and  self- 
seeking.  He  was  about  twenty-eight,  of  excellent  physique, 
not  tall,  but  strongly  built,  with  mobile  and  almost  hand- 
some features.  Add  to  these  attractions  a  high  military 
title,  and  who  can  wonder  that  he  created  a  great  deal  of 
interest  among  the  people  of  Lexington,  with  whom  he 
announced  that  he  had  come  to  cast  his  fortunes?  He 


20  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

was  James  Wilkinson,  some  six  years  before  colonel  and 
brevet-brigadier  general  in  the  American  Army  of  the 
Revolution.  He  came  now  from  Philadelphia,  where  for 
some  time  he  had  been  connected  with  commercial  concerns ; 
and  it  was  as  the  representative  of  such  an  association,  it 
was  understood,  that  he  emigrated  to  the  frontier. 

Before  following  his  career,  let  us  take  a  glimpse  at  his 
past.  Born  in  Maryland,  he  early  began  the  study  of 
medicine.  The  war  with  the  mother  country  breaking  out 
he  was  one  of  the  first  to  enlist  as  a  private ;  served  at 
the  siege  of  Boston,  and  immediately  began  to  receive  com- 
missions. He  was  soon  a  brigade-major  under  St.  Clair, 
and  happened  to  be  present  in  the  house  where  General 
Charles  Lee  was  captured.  The  British  dragoons  who 
purloined  that  military  fakir  overlooked  Wilkinson,  who 
straightway  became  an  adjutant  on  the  staff  of  General 
Gates  with  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  was  in  at  the  killing 
at  Saratoga,  and  was  present  in  the  most  showy  uniform 
of  the  Continentals  at  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne.  It  may 
have  been  because  of  his  exceptional  uniform  that  Gates 
selected  him  as  official  messenger  to  carry  his  report  of 
the  victory  to  the  Congress,  which  was  then  sitting  at 
York  town. 

Wilkinson  was  at  that  date  hardly  twenty-one,  but  pre- 
cocious —  rather  in  audacity,  it  is  hinted,  than  in  military 
skill.  But  whatever  the  reason,  he  was  at  that  period 
a  favorite  with  General  Gates.  He  set  out  for  Yorktown 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  21 

in  a  showy  manner,  having  a  military  guard.  It  would 
naturally  be  supposed  that  he  made  an  eager  and  hurried 
trip  with  such  glorious  news  for  the  nation's  council.  Not 
so.  He  took  more  than  dignified  leisure,  stopped  long  at 
the  inns,  posed  as  a  hero  of  the  victory  to  admiring  yokels 
in  barrooms,  received  their  applause,  and  repeated  the 
entertainment  at  the  next  tavern. 

At  length,  and  still  more  leisurely,  he  arrived  at  York- 
town,  having  been  on  the  road  nearly  a  month.  But  even 
then  he  did  not  report  his  arrival  for  two  days.  The 
uniform  and  accoutrements  had  become  tarnished  by  the 
journey,  and  he  took  that  time  to  preen  himself  up  to  his 
normal  glitter,  and  to  prepare  a  grandiloquent  oration 
with  which  to  deliver  his  message.  Finally  he  presented 
himself  before  the  venerables,  who  had  long  before  received 
the  news  through  the  weekly  papers.  They  listened  with 
some  impatience  to  his  bumptious  rhetoric;  after  which 
he  hung  around,  hoping  they  would  reward  him  for  having 
arrived  with  the  report  at  all.  But  he  had  his  friends, 
and  one  of  them  suggested  the  propriety  of  voting  him 
a  sword,  whereupon  a  disgusted  old  Scotch  member 
exclaimed : 

"  I  think  ye  'd  better  gie  the  lad  a  pair  o'  spurs !  " 
While  the  tardy  spur-heel  was  grumbling  at  the  in- 
gratitude of  Congress,  his  friends  were  busy.     He  must 
have  been  a  good  lobbyist,  for  before  he  left  he  was  bre- 
vetted  a  brigadier.    Soon  after  that  he  got  involved  in  the 


22  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Conway  cabal  by  talking  loosely,  for  which  he  pleaded 
excuse  by  declaring  it  was  during  a  convivial  hour.  Gates 
now  turned  upon  and  denounced  him,  but  Wilkinson 
maintained,  as  he  ever  did  when  caught  in  a  questionable 
mix,  that  he  worshipped  honor  as  the  jewel  of  his  soul. 
He  and  the  general  talked  pistols  behind  the  meeting- 
house at  eight  o'clock,  but  came  to  an  understanding 
and  merely  took  coffee.  Wilkinson  then  was  appointed 
secretary  to  the  Board  of  War,  but  quarrelled  again  with 
Gates,  its  president,  whom  he  accused  of  treachery  in  the 
Conway  affair,  and  resigned  after  serving  only  a  few  days. 
Just  prior  to  this  he  resigned  his  newly-acquired  com- 
mission of  brevet-brigadier,  because  all  the  forty-seven 
colonels  of  the  army,  who  were  older  than  he,  raised  such 
a  protest  at  the  favoritism  of  it. 

There  was  something  peculiar  about  those  two  resig- 
nations which  left  the  young  warrior  out  of  the  service. 
That  they  were  altogether  voluntary  can  hardly  be  credited. 
"  It  was  a  retirement,"  says  Irving,  "  which  we  apprehend 
he  richly  merited,  and  we  doubt  whether  his  country 
would  have  been  the  loser  had  he  been  left  to  enjoy  it 
for  the  remainder  of  his  days."  But  Wilkinson  did  not 
propose  to  quit  a  loser.  He  went  to  Philadelphia,  got 
in  with  some  of  the  thrifty  patriots  who  were  valiantly 
badgering  Arnold  and  taking  supply  contracts,  and  in 
a  short  time  was  clothier-general  of  the  army.  The  year 
that  the  war  closed  he  sought  new  fields  of  operation  far 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  23 

beyond  the  Alleghanies.  It  is  said  he  had  already  squan- 
dered the  money  he  made  as  clothier-general. 

Here  we  have  in  this  war  hero  among  the  border  popu- 
lace a  man  of  talent  and  an  accomplished  demagogue. 
He  had  a  convincing  manner,  and  the  tricks  of  the  popular 
declaimer  and  agitator  —  captivations  most  effective  for 
the  time  and  the  people.  No  man  in  the  territory  was 
more  adroit,  or  fonder  of  adulation  ;  and  he  at  once 
adapted  himself  to  his  new  environment. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  new  country  from  the  Alleghany 
and  Appalachian  mountains  to  the  Mississippi,  and  north 
of  the  Floridas,  were  in  a  complaining  mood.  The  lands 
they  occupied  along  the  Ohio  and  the  Southwest  rivers 
that  flowed  to  it,  or  to  the  father  of  waters,  were  fertile 
and  productive,  but  the  value  of  those  great  arteries  of 
transportation  was  greatly  impaired  by  the  denial  by  the 
Spaniards  in  Louisiana  to  the  Americans  of  the  right  of 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi.  They  shut  that  great  river 
to  the  commerce  of  the  American  Territories.  This  was 
in  support  of  the  old  policy  of  Spanish  statesmen  to  keep 
Louisiana  a  wilderness  —  a  barren  shield,  or  buffer,  be- 
tween Texas  and  Mexico  and  English  and  French  aggres- 
sion from  the  North  and  East.  This,  of  course,  before 
the  American  Revolution.  It  was  argued  that  to  allow 
the  province  to  become  populous  and  wealthy  would  make 
it  too  tempting  a  prize  for  the  cupidity  of  her  neighbors. 
The  scheme  involved  a  line  of  forts  along  the  Mississippi, 


24  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

and  the  limitation  of  settlement  to  a  small  colony  around 
New  Orleans. 

While  this  policy  of  exclusion  could  not  be  maintained, 
the  Spanish  governors  of  Louisiana  adhered  to  their  do- 
minion of  the  Mississippi,  first  by  absolute  prohibition,  and 
later  (for  years  subsequent  to  the  Revolution)  by  tariffs 
that  absorbed  all  profits  of  traffic  to  New  Orleans.  Al- 
though the  Spaniards  allied  themselves  with  the  Americans 
in  the  war  with  England,  and  took  West  Florida  by  con- 
quest, the  alliance  was  forgotten  when  peace  came,  and 
she  erected  as  many  restrictions  as  possible  against  the 
American  frontiersmen  and  their  trade.  To  be  sure, 
Spain's  war  on  Great  Britain  had  not  been  out  of  sym- 
pathy for  the  United  States,  but  in  order  to  enforce  her 
claim  to  the  exclusive  right  to  the  navigation  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.  Her  possessions,  with  the  capture  of  West 
Florida,  encircled  the  Gulf.  Now,  if  she  should  lose  the  ex- 
clusive right  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  she 
would  lose  that  of  the  Gulf  also.  And  she  considered 
that  the  reward  due  her  for  having  jumped  in  and  fought 
with  the  Americans  in  their  hour  of  great  need  was 
that  exclusive  right. 

It  must  be  remembered  also  that,  even  after  the  relin- 
quishment  of  the  absurd  old  Spanish  claim  to  the  whole 
country  eastward  to  the  Alleghanies,  they  yet  owned  a 
considerable  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi,  including 
the  Natchez  district.  So,  considering  the  international 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  25 

politics  of  the  times,  the  claim  of  the  Spaniards  to  the 
great  river  was  not  without  the  color  of  reason ;  and  her 
imposition  of  duties  of  forty  per  cent  or  more  on  the  goods 
and  produce  sent  down  from  the  Ohio,  the  Cumberland, 
the  Tennessee,  and  other  rivers  to  her  valuable  market 
was  clearly  within  her  right.  But  it  was  rough  on  the 
American  settlers.  Their  produce  could  not  be  trans- 
ported over  mountain  ranges  to  the  East  in  those  days, 
and  much  of  their  crops  rotted  in  the  new-cleared  fields. 
Add  to  this  the  constant  depredations  of  the  savages, 
which  the  Federal  government  was  ill  able  to  repel,  and 
which  occasioned  great  hardships  to  the  westerners,  and 
the  cause  of  their  discontent  may  easily  be  understood. 

After  James  Wilkinson  had  traded  and  planted  in  Ken- 
tucky three  years  under  these  conditions,  using  all  his  arts 
and  influence  to  increase  the  clamor  of  the  people  and  to 
incite  them  to  blame  the  government  for  all  their  distress, 
he  turned  speculator.  He  had  figured  out  a  possible  way 
to  beat  the  Spanish  tariffs,  and  he  plunged  all  his  means 
and  credit  on  the  desperate  move  of  putting  it  into  execu- 
tion. And  it  was  nothing  so  innocent  as  simple  smug- 
gling, either.  He  bought  up  a  cargo  of  tobacco,  bacon, 
whiskey,  and  flour.  It  was  all  cheap,  and  what  he  could 
not  pay  for,  which  was  most  of  it,  he  easily  got  on  credit. 
He  loaded  the  stuff  on  flatboats,  and  in  June,  1787, 
shipped  with  it  for  New  Orleans.  He  was  not  much  of 
an  admiral,  but  he  did  not  have  to  go  far  from  land,  and 


26  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

the  nature  of  his  cargo  afforded  good  cheer  for  the  jour- 
ney. And  so  he  floated  down  the  Tennessee  to  the  Ohio, 
and  on  to  the  forted  Mississippi,  where  Spanish  guards 
and  Spanish  guns  disputed  the  way. 

Still  the  ex-brevet-brigadier  drifted  on.  No  such  trader 
had  ever  before  come  down  that  old  watercourse.  Never 
such  a  browbeating,  threatening,  authoritative,  wheedling, 
deceiving  commodore  of  a  backwater  fleet  had  ever  come 
that  way ;  and  he  got  to  New  Orleans  intact,  where,  of 
course,  everybody  who  had  been  overawed  or  hoodwinked 
by  him  said  he  would  come  to  grief — that  his  whole 
shipment  would  be  seized  by  Governor  Miro,  and  sold. 
Either  that  or  the  shipper  would  pay  the  duties. 

Well,  this  was  the  first  time  neither  of  those  things 
happened  to  an  American  coming  there,  and  everybody 
had  a  right  to  be  astonished.  But  let  them  wait  and  see 
how  this  exceptional  individual  transacts  business. 

As  usual,  Governor  Miro  ordered  the  cargo  seized.  But 
that  was  before  he  met  the  owner.  Soon  Wilkinson  pre- 
sented himself  before  His  Excellency.  Now  this  Spanish 
governor  was  not  any  kind  of  fool,  nor  a  tyro  at  his 
business.  He  had  dealt  with  men  of  all  kinds  and  many 
nationalities  in  holding  his  province  aloof  from  the  rest  of 
the  world,  and  so  far  none  had  cajoled  him  much.  And 
it  may  as  well  be  admitted  at  once  that  it  is  nothing  par- 
ticularly to  the  discredit  of  his  acumen  that  he  gave  under 
now,  for  the  record  does  not  show  that  any  living  man, 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  27 

from  President  Washington  down  to  the  humblest  river 
guard  on  the  border,  ever  came  in  contact  with  this  man 
Wilkinson  without  being  made  a  dupe  or  a  cat's-paw  of. 
Miro  simply  became  one  of  them.  First  thing  anyone 
knew  he  was  giving  banquets  to  his  illustrious  visitor  — 
was  not  he  a  great  warrior,  a  general  from  a  victorious 
army  and  a  great  war  ?  Had  not  Wilkinson  had  a  chance 
to  tell  him  about  it  ?  —  and  how  could  one  hear,  and  look 
upon  the  man,  and  doubt  ? 

The  facts  are  that  he  had  heard  about  Wilkinson. 
There  had  been  correspondence  between  them.  Miro 
understood  that  the  ex-warrior  was  a  man  of  extensive  in- 
fluence with  the  discontented  Americans.  Wilkinson 
soon  convinced  him  of  it,  and  in  a  short  time  was  per- 
mitted to  sell  his  cargo  duty  free.  But  that  did  not  ter- 
minate his  visit.  He  remained  at  New  Orleans  on 
intimate  terms  with  the  Governor.  This,  and  the  privi- 
lege of  trading  down  the  Mississippi  and  with  the 
Spaniards,  was  much  wondered  at.  News  about  it 
reached  Kentucky  and  mystified  the  people  —  most  of 
them.  And  along  in  September,  Wilkinson  took  his  de- 
parture, going  by  sea  around  to  his  old  home,  Philadel- 
phia, and  thence  across  country  to  Kentucky. 

This  is  what  had  transpired.  The  wily  American  had 
approached  the  Spanish  governor  with  a  proposition  in 
the  interest  of  Spain.  He  related  how  greatly  incensed 
the  people  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  were,  how  much 


28  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

they  desired  the  freedom  of  the  Mississippi,  and  asserted, 
no  doubt  with  impressive  exaggeration,  how  bitter  their 
feeling  was  against  their  government  for  not  securing  for 
them  without  delay  the  exemptions  they  desired.  Wil- 
kinson would  enter  into  a  compact,  for  certain  considera- 
tions, to  head  a  defection  in  Kentucky,  secure  the 
cooperation  of  the  leading  citizens,  to  separate  the  Terri- 
tory from  Virginia  and  from  the  Union,  and  to  bring  it 
under  the  protection  and  sovereignty  of  Spain.  In  this 
revolution  Tennessee  and  Mississippi  no  doubt  would  join. 
With  both  attached  to  Louisiana,  that  immense  province 
would  have  no  further  trouble  in  monopolizing  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi ;  that  river  would  then  flow 
through  the  middle  of  the  extended  Spanish  possessions, 
with  the  United  States  having  no  frontage  on  it  below 
the  Ohio.  Nor  would  it  be  necessary  longer  to  keep 
Louisiana  unpeopled  as  a  safeguard  against  encroachments 
on  Texas. 

It  was  a  grand,  glittering,  audacious  scheme.  Perhaps 
no  other  man  west  of  the  Alleghanies  could  have  won  the 
confidence  of  Miro  in  its  feasibility  —  the  Spaniard  would 
have  doubted  the  capacity  of  any  other  to  carry  it 
through.  That  Wilkinson  convinced  him  by  evidence 
other  than  words  that  he  already  had  a  number  of  influen- 
tial associates  enlisted  in  the  treasonable  undertaking,  is 
certain.  In  fact,  several  were  no  doubt  actual  partners 
with  him  in  the  cargo  he  had  brought  —  he  had  different 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  29 

partnerships  in  others  following,  through  many  years. 
And  the  theory  has  been  advanced  by  some  that  Wilkin- 
son's whole  object  in  his  traitorous  engagement  with  Miro 
was  to  secure  an  exclusive  trading  privilege  which,  in  a 
short  time,  must  enrich  him.  But  as  a  matter  of  truth, 
this  adroit  veteran  of  the  Revolution  had  greater  designs 
than  those  he  disclosed  to  Governor  Miro.  He  had  con- 
tracted visions  of  a  great  and  independent  State,  of  which 
he  would  be  the  ruler.  Sovereignty  had  been  rapidly 
shifting.  Spain  was  declining  —  he  did  not  believe  the 
political  conditions  of  the  world  would  permit  her  long  to 
hold  these  desirable  American  provinces.  To  wrest  them 
from  her,  after  the  great  region  from  the  Ohio  to  the 
Floridas  had  been  wrested  from  the  United  States,  would 
be  a  simple  military  stroke.  In  the  combined  territory 
an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men  could  be  raised.  As  for 
the  American  government,  it  would  have  enough  to  do  to 
keep  together  what  would  be  left,  without  attempting  a 
war  to  restrain  her  troublesome  border  districts  from 
seceding. 

As  Miro  looked  at  it,  the  realization  of  the  plan  would 
restore  Spain's  waning  prestige  on  the  continent,  and  be 
a  glorifying  stroke  for  himself;  but  his  range  of  vision 
was  not  the  same  as  Wilkinson's.  However,  he  took  the 
latter  at  his  offer,  and  they  immediately  set  at  work  "  mak- 
ing out  the  papers."  If  it  were  not  for  those  papers,  and 
the  letters  which  the  Governor  received  from  Wilkinson, 


30  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

the  fact  of  the  conspiracy  would  never  have  been  proved 
to  the  convincing  of  the  American  people  of  the  depths 
of  Wilkinson's  villainy.  All  other  proofs  he  took  care  to 
destroy  or  vitiate.  No  plotter  was  ever  more  cunning  at 
covering  up  the  tracks  he  left  in  the  paths  of  obloquy. 
He  was  a  long  calculator,  was  Wilkinson,  and  the  com- 
binations of  guile  which  he  operated  are  often  as  puzzling 
as  they  are  amazing. 

During  his  long  stay  at  New  Orleans,  on  his  first  visit, 
he  reckoned  that  suspicions  would  go  out,  and  that  they 
might  reach  Washington.  So  he  cultivated  the  intimacy 
of  one  Daniel  Clark,  at  that  time  assistant  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Province.  Clark  was  twenty-one  years  old, 
an  Irishman  by  birth,  but  a  naturalized  Spanish  citizen, 
and  a  shrewd  fellow,  as  his  career  amply  proves.  To 
hoodwink  the  United  States  officials,  Wilkinson  induced 
Clark  to  write  a  memorial  which  some  time  later  was 
addressed  by  the  latter  to  the  American  Secretary  of 
State,  complaining  that  Wilkinson  had  by  intimidation 
extorted  from  Governor  Miro  the  privilege  of  trading  to 
New  Orleans,  in  the  interest  of  the  people  of  his  Terri- 
tory ;  thus  making  out  a  case  for  Wilkinson's  patriotism, 
although  not  for  his  politeness  to  foreign  neighbors.  This 
memorial  was  of  great  value  to  Wilkinson  years  afterward, 
as  will  appear. 

Soon  after  arriving  home,  Wilkinson  addressed  a  letter  to 
Senor  Gardoqui,  the  Spanish  minister  to  the  United  States, 


GOVERNOR  DON  ESTEVAN  MIRO 

Spanish  Provincial  Governor  of  Louisiana 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  31 

in  which  he  discussed  his  negotiations  with  Governor  Miro. 
In  this  letter  he  declared  he  had  nothing  to  hope  for  from 
the  Union,  and  that  if  his  proposition  to  Miro  were  re- 
jected by  Spain,  he  would  open  negotiations  with  Great 
Britain,  which  power  had  already  been  in  communication 
with  him  on  similar  business.  It  is  likely  that  he  used 
this  argument  to  hasten  Miro's  consent  to  his  proposition 
in  the  first  instance,  and  he  now  used  it  to  induce  the 
Spanish  court  to  approve  of  Miro's  decision.  And  proba- 
bly it  was  true,  for  Great  Britain  made  the  same  proposi- 
tion, that  is,  a  proposal  to  send  a  force  to  combine  with  the 
Americans  of  the  Southwest  for  the  conquest  of  Louisiana, 
to  others ;  it  being  this  scheme  which,  a  few  years  later, 
got  Senator  Blount  of  Tennessee  on  the  gridiron.  Any- 
way, Miro  sent  a  glowing  account  of  the  prospect  to 
his  government,  in  which  he  wrote:  "The  delivering 
up  of  Kentucky  into  his  Majesty's  hands  [meaning  his 
Spanish  Majesty],  which  is  the  main  object  to  which 
Wilkinson  has  promised  to  devote  himself  entirely,  would 
forever  constitute  this  Province  a  -rampart  for  the  protec- 
tion of  New  Spain.1"  Texas  was  then  called  New  Spain. 

Miro  at  the  same  time  advised  against  the  colonization 
enterprises  which  Minister  Gardoqui,  at  Philadelphia,  was 
approving,  including  the  opening  of  Louisiana  to  trade 
with  Americans  under  a  twenty-five  per  cent  tariff.  A 
grant  had  already  been  given  Colonel  George  D.  Morgan, 
another  Revolutionary  veteran,  who  founded  New  Madrid 


32  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

under  its  authority.  This  also  displeased  Wilkinson,  who 
feared  Morgan  was  treading  on  his  preserves.  He  wrote 
Miro  his  objections,  which  that  functionary  thought  reason- 
able, for  he  advised  his  government  that  the  colonization 
plans,  which  Gardoqui  had  placed  in  the  hands  of  one 
D'Arges,  would  conflict  with  General  Wilkinson's.  He 
stated  further  that  if  they  were  continued,  D'Arges  might 
expose  the  general's  projects  and  cause  Wilkinson  to  be 
arrested ;  that  Wilkinson  objected  to  anyone  else  partic- 
ipating in  a  confidential  proceeding  upon  which  depended 
his  life  and  honor.  Continuing  Miro  said : 

"  Hence  I  consider  as  a  misfortune  the  project  of 
D'Arges,  because  I  look  upon  the  commercial  franchises 
which  he  has  obtained  for  the  western  colonists  ....  as 
destructive  of  the  great  design  which  has  been  conceived  ! 
The  western  people  would  no  longer  have  any  reason  to 
emigrate,  if  they  were  put  in  possession  of  a  free  trade 
with  us.  This  is  the  reason  why  this  privilege  should 
be  granted  only  to  a  few  individuals  having  influence 
among  them,  as  is  suggested  in  Wilkinson's  memorial ; 
because,  on  their  seeing  this  advantage  bestowed  on  these 
few,  they  might  be  easily  persuaded  to  acquire  the  like 
by  becoming  Spanish  subjects.  ...  I  can  conceive  of  but 
one  case  which  would  justify  the  granting  to  those  people 
the  free  exercise  of  their  religion ;  that  is,  if  Kentucky 
could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  give  herself  up  to  his 
Majesty  without  this  condition." 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  33 

But  the  question  of  religion  did  not  trouble  Wilkinson. 
He  could  swear  on  the  holy  evangelists  of  Almighty  God 
quite  as  impressively  as  a  Catholic  as  anything  else.  He 
already  was  talking  of  becoming  a  Spaniard.  Among  his 
first  letters  to  Miro  he  said :  "  I  have  collected  much 
European  and  American  news,  and  have  made  various  in- 
teresting observations  for  our  political  designs.  It  would 
take  a  volume  to  tell  you  all.  I  pray  you  to  content  your- 
self with  this  assurance  —  all  my  predictions  are  verifying 
themselves,  and  not  a  measure  is  taken  on  both  sides  of 
the  mountains  which  does  not  conspire  to  favor  ours.  .  .  . 
I  beg  you  to  be  easy,  and  to  be  satisfied  that  nothing 
shall  deter  me  from  attending  exclusively  to  the  object 
we  have  in  hand ;  and  I  am  convinced  that  the  success  of 
our  plan  will  depend  on  the  disposition  of  the  court." 

And  then,  to  show  how  smooth  a  Spaniard  he  had 
already  become,  he  turns  off  this  benediction  —  "I  take 
leave  of  you  with  the  most  ardent  prayers  to  the  Almighty 
for  your  spiritual  and  temporal  welfare,  and  I  beg  to 
subscribe  myself  your  unalterably  devoted  friend,  and  your 
most  faithful,  humble,  and  obliged  servant."" 

In  this  business  of  fomenting  treason  among  his  country- 
men Wilkinson  became  a  regular  pensionary  of  Spain. 
That  Miro  had  some  doubts,  and  hesitated  awhile  before 
putting  up  any  money,  is  shown  by  his  letters.  Finally, 
Wilkinson  sent  a  certain  Major  Isaac  Dunn  down  to 
New  Orleans  with  a  shipment  of  produce  and  a  letter 

3 


34  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

introducing  him  to  the  governor  as  an  old  army  comrade 
in  whose  honor,  discretion,  and  talents  he  placed  great 
reliance.  Wilkinson  always  underlined  honor.  He  had 
chosen  Dunn  as  a  fit  auxiliary  to  their  political  designs, 
the  same  being  embraced  by  him  with  cordiality.  This 
man  seems  to  have  impressed  Miro  favorably,  and  he  con- 
firmed all  that  Wilkinson  had  declared.  He  had  heard 
it  expressed  by  their  most  distinguished  citizens,  had 
Dunn,  that  the  direction  of  the  current  of  their  rivers 
pointed  clearly  to  the  power  to  which  they  (the  Americans) 
ought  to  ally  themselves.  The  same,  of  course,  being 
Spain. 

In  stating  these  circumstances,  Governor  Miro  tells  us 
more  about  Wilkinson.  He  says  he  had  no  money ;  that 
he  borrowed  $3000  on  his  first  visit  to  New  Orleans,  and 
begged  the  governor  not  to  seize  his  cargo,  which  had 
cost  $7000  in  Kentucky,  and  on  which  he  was  counting  to 
pay  his  debts.  "  He  seems  candid,  and  I  hear  good  reports 
of  him,  but  he  may  be  seeking  to  enrich  himself  at  our 
expense  by  inflating  us  with  vain  hopes  and  promises. 
But  I  concluded  to  humor  him." 

Later  Miro  wrote  that  he  was  more  assured.  He  heard 
from  various  sources  of  the  work  in  Kentucky,  and  of 
Wilkinson's  utterances  reflecting  on  the  Federal  govern- 
ment. Thus  Wilkinson  began  to  draw  Spanish  gold,  and 
became  an  emissary  of  Spain  in  the  conspiracy  of  his  own 
hatching  to  disrupt  the  Union.  He  continued  his  mer- 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  35 

chandising,  sending  cargoes  of  bacon,  whiskey,  pink-root, 
cowbells,  pelts,  hickory-nut  oil,  and  other  products  to 
New  Orleans,  where  he  now  had  Daniel  Clark  as  a  factor, 
and  must  have  made  money.  On  one  deal  he  was  enabled 
to  buy  a  boat-load  of  stores  to  the  amount  of  $18,246 
with  the  proceeds  of  a  cargo  that  cost  him  about  $7000. 
If  the  result  of  this  traffic  were  known  to  the  people  of 
Kentucky  —  and  a  good  many  probably  did  know  some- 
thing about  it  —  it  must  have  had  its  influence  in  inclin- 
ing them  toward  Spanish  allegiance.  Kentucky,  now  a 
part  of  Virginia,  was  preparing  for  separate  statehood. 
Several  conventions  were  held  to  devise  a  constitution,  at 
one  of  which  Wilkinson  read  what  he  represented  as  the 
compact  he  had  made  with  Miro,  but  it  was  divested  of 
its  most  treasonable  passages.  Yet  it  advocated  the 
separation  of  Kentucky  from  the  Union,  and  invoked  the 
aid  of  Spain.  Then  he  wrote  Miro  that  the  convention 
had  received  it  with  approval ;  and  Miro  observed  that 
Wilkinson  had  so  bound  himself  that,  should  he  not  be 
able  to  obtain  the  separation  of  Kentucky  from  the 
United  States,  he  could  no  longer  live  there.  Miro  knew 
treason  when  he  saw  it. 

It  was  a  fact  that  the  scheme  had  involved  a  num- 
ber of  other  prominent  citizens  almost  as  deeply  as  him- 
self. He  made  especial  mention  of  Colonel  Alex.  Leatt 
Bullitt ;  Harry  Innes,  then  attorney  general,  afterward 
a  Federal  judge ;  John  Brown,  afterward  member  of 


36  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Congress;  and  Judge  Benjamin  Sebastian.  The  last 
named  also  became  a  Spanish  pensionary.  Wilkinson 
informed  Miro  that,  as  soon  as  the  State  government 
was  organized,  they  would  name  a  political  agent  with 
power  to  treat  with  him  on  the  change  of  sovereignty. 
In  the  meantime  he  hoped  to  receive  his  Excellency's 
orders,  "which  I  will  do  my  utmost  to  execute." 

"  I  don't  anticipate  any  obstacle  from  Congress, 
because  under  the  present  Federal  compact  that  body 
can  neither  dispose  of  men  nor  money,  and  the  new  gov- 
ernment, should  it  establish  itself,  will  have  to  encounter 
difficulties  which  will  keep  it  weak  for  three  or  four 
years,  before  the  expiration  of  which  I  have  good 
grounds  to  hope  that  we  shall  have  completed  our 
negotiations,  and  shall  have  become  too  strong  to  be 
subjected  by  any  force  that  may  be  sent  against  us." 

That  paragraph  explains  a  great  deal  of  what  was 
on  Wilkinson's  mind,  and  in  part  it  expressed  the 
feeling  and  belief  of  thousands :  distrust  in  the  new 
government,  doubt  of  its  efficiency,  and  readiness  to 
take  advantage  of  its  infantile  weakness  —  before  the 
constitution  was  adopted. 

About  this  time  Martin  Navarro,  who  had  been 
intendant-general  of  Louisiana,  struck  off  a  white-hot 
prophecy.  He  was  about  to  return  to  Spain,  his  office 
having  been  consolidated  with  the  governorship  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  Miro  unshackled  facilities  to  conduct 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  37 

the  intrigue,  the  policy  on  both  sides  being  to  keep 
the  affair  in  as  few  hands  as  possible.  Navarro's  last 
despatch  was  a  memorial  to  his  sovereign,  at  the  request 
of  the  secretary  of  the  department  of  the  Indies.  In 
this  paper  he  pointed  to  the  dangers,  present  and  pos- 
sible, which  Spain  had  to  apprehend  "from  the  new 
nation  of  thirteen  provinces  now  federated  in  one  ambi- 
tious giant  thirsty  for  conquest,  and  which  would  not 
rest  content  till  he  has  extended  his  domain  across  the 
continent,  and  bathed  his  vigorous  young  limbs  in  the 
placid  waters  of  the  Pacific." 

That  is  not  so  bad  for  a  Spaniard  in  1790.  Then 
Sefior  Navarro  ventured  some  advisory  suggestions. 
Could  the  expansion  of  the  new  giant  be  prevented  ? 
Yes  —  by  severing  the  new  Union  in  time ;  by  dividing 
from  the  Atlantic  States  the  expansive  West,  where 
vast  power  was  now  slumbering  in  the  lap  of  the  wil- 
derness. And  the  best  way  to  do  this  was  for  Spain 
to  reverse  her  former  policy,  and  grant  every  commercial 
privilege  to  the  Western  region. 

Those  were  the  words  of  a  statesman,  and  they  at 
least  had  the  effect  of  strengthening  the  Madrid  gov- 
ernment in  backing  Miro.  D'Arges  received  instruc- 
tions to  assist  to  his  utmost  the  plan  to  divide  the 
United  States.  Wilkinson,  in  his  letters,  several  times 
expressed  grave  fears  of  detection ;  declared  his  lack  of 
confidence  of  the  Colonel  Morgan  who  had  received  a 


38  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

grant  of  twenty  square  miles;  said  he  had  set  a  spy 
on  Morgan,  who  was  overstepping  his  authority ;  and 
complained  of  the  bad  treatment  both  he  and  Morgan 
got  from  Washington  and  the  Congress.  He  declared 
that  all  those  who  were  put  in  Federal  offices  were 
enemies  of  Spain,  that  Congress  suspected  him  and 
spied  upon  his  movements.  "Consequently,"  he  con- 
tinued plaintively,  "the  avowed  intention  on  my  part 
to  induce  these  people  here  to  separate  from  the 
Union  before  a  majority  of  them  show  a  disposition  to 
support  me,  would  endanger  my  personal  security.  My 
situation  is  mortally  painful,  because,  while  I  abhor  all 
duplicity,  I  am  obliged  to  dissemble." 

One  can  almost  hear  Miro  chuckle  to  himself  as  he 
read  that.  Yet  in  it  he  discerned  a  weakening  on 
Wilkinson's  part,  and  answered  him  caustically  to  con- 
tinue to  dissemble  and  not  try  to  be  a  Spaniard. 
He  continued,  however,  to  pay  Wilkinson  $2000  a  year 
to  coddle  the  Kentuckians  Spanishwise;  and,  lacking 
full  faith  in  his  sincerity,  he  got  into  secret  communi- 
cation with  Judge  Sebastian,  one  of  Wilkinson's  trusted 
associates,  on  the  same  business,  and  paid  him  an  equal 
stipend  to  spy  on  Wilkinson.  At  the  same  time  the 
latter  was  bribing  Clark  at  New  Orleans  to  watch  the 
antics  of  the  governor;  and  thus  the  intrigue  went 
merrily  on. 


CHAPTER  II 


Plots  for  Disunion —  Genet,  "  Citizen"  Minister  from  France,  Arrives 
—  Attempts  to  Raise  an  Army  of  Conquest  in  America  —  Much 
Disloyalty  —  Bold  Schemes  Frustrated. 


HILE  Wilkinson, 
whose  hope  saw  the 
glimmer  of  sovereign 
power  over  a  vast  re- 
gion, conspired  with 
Miro,  and  trafficked 
and  caroused  with 
the  restless  frontiers- 
men, there  were 
other  things  happen- 
ing along  the  Sou  th- 
em border.  There 
was  also  discontent 
in  Georgia,  where 
valuable  slaves  had 
too  frequent  a  habit  of  dashing  for  freedom  over  into 
Spanish  Florida  among  the  everglades,  whence  it  was  next 
to  impossible  to  hunt  down  and  recover  them.  Besides, 
no  matter  how  fertile  their  own  valleys,  or  how  abundant 
the  game  in  their  forests,  many  of  the  Georgian  pioneers 


40  THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

longed  for  the  lands  about  which  they  heard  such  glowing 
accounts,  lying  far  to  the  westward. 

This  desire  for  new  possessions,  or  envy  of  the  Spaniards, 
resulted  in  1785  in  an  exodus  of  several  hundred  Georgi- 
ans over  into  the  Spanish  country  near  Natchez.  They 
were  led  by  one  Thomas  Green,  who  seems  to  have  been  a 
"colonist"  of  high  daring  and  low  ethics.  With  their 
families,  their  baggage,  their  oxen,  and  slaves,  they  trav- 
ersed forest  and  morass,  intending  to  stay  and  possess 
the  soil  whenever  they  found  it  suitable,  regardless  of  pre- 
occupancy.  The  wooded  hills  near  the  Mississippi,  where 
nature  had  struck  a  balance  between  mountain  and  plain, 
seemed  desirable.  There  they  unyoked,  and  parcelled  out 
the  land  among  themselves.  True,  the  district  was  in- 
habited, for  there  was  a  Spanish  fort  at  Natchez ;  and  the 
interlopers  seem  to  have  shown  the  forbearance  of  not 
shooting  the  commandant,  although  that  official  refused 
to  recognize  their  authority. 

It  does  not  lessen  the  transgression  that  the  territory 
was  claimed  by  the  United  States  as  having  been  acquired 
from  Great  Britain  after  the  war.  Spain  had  conquered 
it  from  the  English  by  hard  fighting  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  had  possession.  The  Spanish  declaration  that 
Britain  could  not  cede  territory  she  did  not  possess  prob- 
ably would  have  been  granted  as  reasonable  by  anybody 
but  Americans.  However,  the  interlopers  set  up  a  govern- 
ment and  "  elected "  Green  Governor.  His  proclamation 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  41 

indicates  that  he  was  in  the  loose  enjoyment  of  a  sub- 
normal conscience,  and  no  doubt  his  followers  were  all 
pretty  much  like  him. 

Mr.  Gardoqui,  Spain's  representative  at  Washington, 
protested  against  this  forcible  intrusion,  and  Congress, 
after  learning  the  facts,  passed  an  act  of  wonderment  at 
the  audacity  of  the  Georgians.  "  Although  they  [Con- 
gress] conceive  that  they  have  an  undoubted  right  to  all 
the  territory  specified,  yet  they  view  with  real  concern  the 
unaccountable  attempt  of  any  individuals  of  these  States 
to  disturb  the  peace  between  the  two  nations ;  and  that 
the  delegates  from  Georgia  should  disavow  the  appoint- 
ment of  Thomas  Green  as  governor." 

This  must  have  been  crushing  to  the  timid  and  sensitive 
spirit  of  the  said  Green,  even  if  Congress  and  Georgia  and 
the  delegates  let  it  go  at  that,  and  left  him  and  his  fel- 
lows in  the  disputed  territory,  contesting  authority  with 
the  Spanish  commandant.  It  likewise  must  have  been 
edifying  to  Mr.  Gardoqui  to  note  the  shock  of  grief 
Congress  suffered  over  the  affair. 

There  was  great  exasperation  over  the  report  that  Con- 
gress had  proposed  a  compromise  with  Spain  over  the 
Mississippi,  consenting  it  should  remain  closed  to  Ameri- 
can commerce  for  twenty-five  years,  after  that  to  be  open 
to  all.  Spain  would  not  agree.  But  the  Western  people 
were  angry,  and  began  to  arm.  They  were  secretly  en- 
couraged by  England,  still  at  war  with  Spain,  and  ready 


42  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

also  to  stab  the  young  Republic.  George  Rogers  Clark 
was  the  person  through  whom  she  schemed.  He  began 
enlisting  militia  along  the  Ohio,  and  seizing  Spanish  prop- 
erty between  Fort  Vincennes  and  the  Mississippi.  Thomas 
Green,  the  next  year  after  his  invasion  of  the  Natchez  dis- 
trict, also  began  preparation  for  more  warlike  enterprises. 
He  recruited  a  company  of  militia  at  what  is  now  Louis- 
ville, and  another  on  the  Cumberland,  which  he  and 
others  armed  and  drilled.  That  these  determined  men 
had  objects  in  view  beyond  the  mere  forcing  of  open  navi- 
gation of  the  great  river,  is  hardly  a  matter  of  doubt.  A 
secret  circular  letter  sent  from  Ohio  Falls  (Louisville)  in- 
dicated a  much  larger  plan,  and  a  letter  written  Dec.  4, 
1786,  from  the  same  place  by  a  prominent  citizen  —  attrib- 
uted by  some  to  Thomas  Green  —  to  a  New  England 
friend,  echoes  the  rumblings  of  the  time : 

"  We  can  raise  twenty  thousand  troops  this  side  of  the 
Alleghanies,  and  the  annual  increase  of  them  by  immigra- 
tion is  from  two  thousand  to  four  thousand.  We  have 
taken  all  the  goods  belonging  to  the  Spanish  merchants 
at  Post  Vincennes  and  on  the  Illinois,  and  are  deter- 
mined they  shall  not  trade  up  the  river,  provided  they  will 
not  let  us  trade  down  it.  Preparations  are  now  making 
here  (if  necessary)  to  drive  the  Spaniards  from  their  settle- 
ments at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  In  case  we  are 
not  countenanced  and  succored  by  the  United  States  (if 
we  need  it)  our  allegiance  will  be  thrown  off  and  some  other 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  43 

power  applied  to.  Great  Britain  stands  ready  with  open 
arms  to  receive  and  support  us.  They  have  already  offered 
to  open  their  resources  for  our  supplies.  When  once  re- 
united to  them,  farewell,  a  long  farewell  to  all  your  boasted 
greatness  !  The  province  of  Canada  and  the  inhabitants 
of  these  waters  [rivers]  of  themselves  in  time  will  be  able 
to  conquer  you  [people  east  of  the  Alleghanies].  You 
are  as  ignorant  of  this  country  as  Great  Britain  was  of 
America."" 

And  then,  referring  to  the  proposed  treaty-compromise 
to  block  up  the  Mississippi  for  twenty-five  years  to  all 
Americans,  and  which  was  erroneously  reported  to  have 
been  entered  into,  the  writer  declared  it  had  given  the 
West  a  shock.  "  To  sell  us  and  make  us  vassals  to  the 
merciless  Spaniards  is  a  grievance  not  to  be  borne." 

A  veteran  of  the  Revolution  named  Sullivan  wrote  that 
"  the  country  abounds  with  the  seeds  of  war."  It  looked 
as  though  the  patriotism  of  the  Western  people  was  all 
out.  Wilkinson,  who  had  himself  been  in  communication 
with  the  British  (or  was  soon  afterward),  grew  jealous 
of  General  Clark,  and  in  a  letter  remarked :  "  Clark  is 
playing  hell  —  raising  a  regiment  of  his  own.  Seized  a 
Spanish  boat  and  stores  worth  $20,000.  I  laid  a  plot 
to  get  the  whole  seized  and  secured  for  the  owners."  A 
protest  against  Claris  acts  was  made  by  the  Kentucky 
legislature  —  for  eastern  consumption.  Harry  Innes,  one 
of  Wilkinson's  co-conspirators,  and  then  attorney  general, 


44  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

wrote  to  Governor  Randolph  of  Virginia :  "  I  am  decidedly 
of  the  opinion  that  the  Western  country  will,  in  a  few 
years,  revolt  from  the  Union  and  endeavor  to  enact  an 
independent  government,  for,  under  the  present  system,  we 
can  not  exert  our  strength ;  neither  does  Congress  seem 
disposed  to  protect  us.  .  .  I  have  just  dropped  this  hint 
to  your  Excellency  for  reflection." 

Both  this  Harry  Innes  and  his  brother  James,  who  also 
was  an  office-holder  at  the  time,  were  in  the  movement, 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  revolt,  and  no  doubt  felt  sure  of 
its  ultimate  success.  Harry's  conduct  at  this  time  and  for 
long  afterward  could  have  been  prompted  by  no  worthier 
motive.  Twenty  years  later  he  was  charged  by  a  news- 
paper with  having  been  in  such  a  conspiracy  with  General 
Wilkinson,  Judge  Sebastian,  and  John  Brown,  the  latter 
a  member  of  Congress ;  and  the  three  of  them  hired  a 
lawyer  to  write  and  publish  a  pamphlet  attempting  to 
exonerate  them,  to  whom  they  furnished  a  garbled  copy 
of  the  letter  to  Randolph,  leaving  out  "  revolt  from  the 
Union,"  and  other  incriminating  phrases,  and  making  it 
appear  by  argument  that  Innes  merely  advocated  the 
separation  of  Kentucky  as  a  Territory  from  Virginia,  and 
setting  up  her  own  State  government.  This  is  typical  of 
the  methods  employed  by  the  treason-schemers  of  that  sec- 
tion and  era,  and  of  their  later  apologists. 

All  the  early  plottings  for  the  dismemberment  of  the 
Union  contemplated  a  division  between  the  East  and  the 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  45 

West,  not  between  the  North  and  the  South,  —  a  fact 
made  interesting  by  later  efforts  at  secession. 

The  finger-marks  of  James  Wilkinson  are  apparent 
throughout  this  dark  record.  On  April  11,  1789,  Lord 
Dorchester,  Governor  General  of  Canada,  wrote  from 
Quebec  to  Lord  Sydney  in  England,  telling  him  of  the 
disaffection  of  the  Americans  of  the  Southwest,  and  the 
possibility  of  detaching  them  from  the  United  States  ; 
he  also  enclosed  a  paper  giving  their  political  reflections 
"  by  a  Gentleman  of  Kentucky." 

Now  in  these  "  reflections,"  as  pointed  out  by  Thomas 
Marshall  Green  in  his  "  Spanish  Conspiracy,"  there  is  not 
an  idea  expressed,  hardly  a  sentiment  or  argument  uttered, 
that  does  not  appear  in  identical  or  very  similar  phrasing 
in  Wilkinson's  subsequent  letters  to  the  Spanish  Governor 
Miro,  when  he  was  entering  into  his  treasonable  compact 
with  him,  —  germs  from  the  same  fountain  of  treason. 

In  1789  Wilkinson  asked  for  a  large  grant  of  land  in 
Louisiana,  —  "a  place  of  refuge  for  myself  and  adherents 
in  case  it  should  be  necessary  for  us  to  retire  from  this 
country  in  order  to  avoid  the  resentment  of  Congress. " 
If  he  was  going  to  be  "  a  good  Spaniard,"  why  should  n't 
he  have  a  Spanish  estate  ?  But  Miro  thought  he  would 
better  remain  in  Kentucky  till  the  contemplated  alliance 
with  Spain  was  effected.  Wilkinson  was  "  working  "  the 
Governor  continually,  and  Miro  recommended  that  the 
amount  which  the  general  claimed  to  have  expended  in 


46  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

furthering  the  conspiracy,  $5000,  be  refunded  to  him,  and 
also  that  he  be  given  $2500  more  to  enable  him  to  com- 
plete the  corruption  of  some  of  his  associates.  He  got 
other  large  sums  from  Miro,  as  will  be  seen  later  on  the  testi- 
mony of  Daniel  Clark.  The  comedy  element  of  this  whole 
wretched  intrigue  is  glimpsed  from  the  financial  side. 

Wilkinson  came  to  Kentucky  "  a  needy  and  unscrupulous 
adventurer."  He  brought  his  wife  to  the  miserable  tavern 
at  Lexington,  a  typical  hostelry  of  the  Southwest  in  early 
times,  where  fried  pork  was  served  three  times  a  day,  and 
whiskey  continuously.  He  loitered  in  the  ill-smelling 
barroom  with  the  "  gentlemen "  of  the  backwoods  town, 
the  best  of  whom  spent  hours  a  day  at  cards,  constantly 
chewing  tobacco,  drinking,  spitting,  and  most  of  them 
profaning  at  every  breath.  After  he  "  got  to  going " 
with  the  Spaniards,  he  set  up  a  house  and  equipage,  gave 
parties,  talked  loudly  about  his  Mississippi  River  enter- 
prises, always  hinting  at  advantages  to  be  gained  by  being 
joined  to  Louisiana,  and  of  course  gambling  heavier  than 
ever.  This  probably  accounts  for  his  usually  being  in 
financial  embarrassment,  for  he  always  had  a  liberal  in- 
come. General  St.  Clair  heard  of  his  scheming  and  wrote 
Major  Dunn,  now  Wilkinson's  partner,  expressing  regret, 
arid  asking  him  to  use  his  influence  to  stop  the  general's 
disloyalty.  Dunn  sent  the  letter  to  Wilkinson,  who  sent 
a  copy  of  it  to  Miro  as  evidence  that  he  was  earning  his 
pension. 


GENERAL  JAMES  WILKINSON 
A n  instigator  of  plots  with  Spanish  Governors 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  47 

His  despatches  to  Miro  were  earned  in  a  small  trunk 
weighted  with  rocks,  and  orders  were  given  the  men  to 
sink  it  in  case  there  arose  any  danger  of  the  contents 
falling  into  other  hands.  Once,  in  1794,  Wilkinson 
sent  a  man  named  Owen  to  New  Orleans  to  receive  the 
treason  stipend  due  him.  On  the  way  back,  Owen  was 
murdered  on  the  Ohio  River  by  the  boatmen,  either 
Spanish  or  French,  who  seized  the  money,  amount- 
ing to  about  $6000.  Three  of  the  murderers  were 
caught  near  Frankfort  and  brought  before  Federal 
Judge  Innes.  Now  this  Harry  Innes  was  Wilkin- 
son's right  bower,  probably  slated  to  be  Minister  of 
State  in  the  new  government  under  him.  Some  of  the 
corruption  fund  taken  by  the  robbers  would  no  doubt 
have  gone  into  his  pocket — a  little  of  it.  And  the 
murdered  man  had  been  his  personal  friend ;  in  fact, 
had  been  recommended  by  him  for  the  confidential 
mission. 

Yet  when  those  three  cutthroats  were  brought  before 
Innes  he  dared  not  try  them.  He  feared  the  trial 
would  uncover  the  real  facts  about  the  lucre  —  which 
might  prove  exceedingly  embarrassing  for  the  judge. 
Not  only  himself,  if  he  had  wanted  to  be  self-sacrificing, 
but  there  was  the  whole  Kentucky  clique  that  might 
be  exposed,  including  his  friend,  Judge  Sebastian. 
So  he  sent  them  under  guard  to  Wilkinson,  who  was 
then  at  Fort  Washington  (Cincinnati),  with  the  flimsy 


48  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

statement  that  the  crime  had  been  committed  on  Span- 
ish territory,  and  therefore  outside  of  his  jurisdiction. 
That  was  absurdly  untrue,  as  his  jurisdiction  extended 
up  and  down  both  sides  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  scene  of 
the  crime  was  far  from  Spanish  land.  But  it  was  as 
good  an  excuse  as  any  for  Wilkinson,  who  grasped  the 
situation  in  a  twinkling.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  judge  felt  confidence  in  Wilkinson's  resources  for 
disposing  of  them  all  safely  enough ;  and  ordinarily 
such  confidence  would  have  been  justified.  But  a 
jumble  will  sometimes  occur  in  the  shrewdest  of  plans. 
Wilkinson  was  on  intimate  terms  with  the  com- 
mandant at  New  Madrid,  the  nearest  Spanish  post. 
This  officer  probably  knew  something  of  Wilkinson's 
affiliations  with  the  Spaniards,  at  least  the  general  felt 
he  could  trust  him  to  perform  a  friendly  duty ;  so  he 
sent  the  red-handed  rascals  down  to  him,  with  a  state- 
ment of  the  case.  This  meant,  of  course,  a  summary 
execution  of  them  without  any  troublesome  exposures 
from  trial.  On  the  way  down,  however,  while  pass- 
ing Fort  Massac,  an  American  post,  the  officer  com- 
manding there  interfered.  Not  liking  the  murky  look 
of  things  he  arrested  the  party,  and  sent  over  to  New 
Madrid  for  an  interpreter  to  interrogate  the  prisoners, 
who  conveniently  declined  to  understand  or  express 
themselves  in  English.  The  Spanish  commandant  got 
an  inkling  of  the  circumstances  in  some  way  and  sent 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  49 

a  "  fixed "  interpreter,  who  either  did  not  divulge  the 
confessions  made  by  the  trio,  or  twisted  the  answers  so 
as  to  persuade  the  officer  that  they  were  innocent; 
and  all  three  of  the  villains  were  discharged. 

The  adoption  of  the  Constitution  in  1789  and  the 
election  of  Washington  as  President  steadied  things 
just  a  little  throughout  the  Southwest,  the  result  more 
of  confidence  in  the  man  than  in  the  instrument.  But 
whatever  pacification  might  have  resulted  —  whatever 
setback  the  promoters  of  disunion  might  have  experi- 
enced from  these  providential  happenings  —  was  soon 
to  be  more  than  counterbalanced  by  a  new  and  most 
aggravating  element  of  mischief.  This  was  precipitated 
upon  the  country  by  the  chaotic  government  of  France 
in  the  person  of  Charles  Edmond  Genet  —  "Citizen" 
Genet,  most  commonly  called  —  minister  of  the  Robes- 
pierre republic.  That  rattle-headed,  insolent,  and  alto- 
gether insufferable  egotist  landed  on  the  American 
shore  not  so  much  with  the  idea  of  representing  France 
here  as  with  the  conviction  that  he  was  ordained  to 
take  control  of  the  government  and  country,  and  con- 
duct them  as  auxiliaries  of  the  French  terrorists.  He 
was  a  young  man  with  some  experience  as  a  diplomat, 
but  he  seemed  to  be  ignorant  of  the  elementary  princi- 
ples of  diplomacy.  Sponge-brained  and  garrulous,  he 
was  also  saturated  with  the  violent  democratic  doctrines 
then  raging  in  France,  and  was  impressive  in  the  cant 


50  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

of  "liberty  and  fraternity."  His  notion  was  that,  as 
France  had  aided  America  in  her  struggle,  America 
must  now  become  an  ally  with  France  in  her  war  with 
Europe. 

The  administration,  being  now  at  peace  with  all  nations, 
adopted  a  policy  of  neutrality  with  respect  to  France  and 
her  troubles,  and  already  was  being  blackguarded  by  a 
faction  of  hotheads  before  Genet  arrived.  The  "  citizen  " 
minister  did  not  land  at  the  seat  of  government,  but  at 
Charleston,  where  he  found  many  ready  partisans.  He 
brought  with  him  four  hundred  commissions  in  blank,  which 
he  was  authorized  to  bestow  upon  leaders  of  the  army 
which  he  was  to  raise  against  the  English  and  Spanish  on 
this  continent  —  France  being  at  war  with  both  those 
nations.  The  very  first  thing,  he  began  to  distribute 
them  to  the  South  Carolinians,  and  to  begin  the  organiza- 
tion of  troops.  Before  he  had  been  there  long  he  learned 
about  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  inhabitants  beyond  the 
mountains  westward,  and  seemed  to  assume  that  it  was  a 
provision  of  Providence  to  aid  him  in  his  grand  scheme 
of  mobilization.  Through  them  he  would  surely  over- 
throw Spanish  sovereignty  in  Louisiana  and  Florida ;  and 
this  led  directly  to  the  larger  scheme  of  establishing  an 
independent  nation  out  of  those  provinces  and  such  States 
and  Territories  as  he  could  induce  to  secede  from  the 
Union,  —  a  nation  which  would  be  dependent  on  France, 
with  Genet  as  "  citizen "  ruler. 


"CITIZEN"  GENET 
Minister  from  France  to  the  United  States 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  51 

Two  expeditions  to  this  end  were  planned  by  him  while 
he  was  at  Charleston.  Distinguished  citizens  engaged  in 
them.  The  brotherly-love  excitement  spread.  The  desire 
to  invade  Florida  prevailed  in  Georgia  to  an  alarming 
extent. 

Colonel  Elijah  Clarke,  in  that  State,  a  veteran  of  the 
Revolution,  was  given  a  commission  of  brigadier-general 
in  the  French  army,  and  soon  was  enthusiastically  em- 
ployed at  recruiting  and  making  military  preparations. 
Genet  also  supplied  him  with  funds,  as  he  did  others. 
After  getting  things  thus  to  moving  nicely  the  minister 
went  on  to  Philadelphia,  meeting  ovations  all  along  the 
way.  Very  much  to  his  astonishment  the  administration 
did  not  abdicate  in  his  favor.  Neutrality !  Gods  and 
guillotines !  What  was  America  for,  if  not  to  be  ally  of 
France  ?  Spirit  of  equality,  and  democracy,  and  brotherly 
love  by  decapitation  !  Fraternity  and  frenzy !  And  so  he 
stormed  at  the  rebuffs  he  got.  He  was  desperately  scan- 
dalized at  finding  that  Washington  had  a  bust  of  Louis 
XVI.,  who  had  been  his  friend  in  a  dark  hour,  and  de- 
clared that  Washington  was  trying  to  set  up  a  monarchy. 
Seeing  that  the  government  frowned  on  his  impertinence, 
he  struck  out  in  a  sort  of  wilful  competition,  even  threat- 
ening to  appeal  from  Washington  to  the  people. 

At  Charleston  he  had  found  an  efficient  lieutenant  in 
the  French  consul  at  that  city,  Michel  Ange  Bernard  de 
Mangourit,  a  man  much  on  the  Genet  model.  The  two 


52  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

Frenchmen  at  once  came  into  intimate  relations  with 
Governor  Moultrie,  of  South  Carolina,  who  gave  Man- 
gourit  letters  of  introduction  to  prominent  men,  and  was 
in  sympathy  with  their  project.  That  commonwealth,  from 
the  formation  of  the  Union,  was  always  quick  to  the  fore 
in  any  scheme  to  dismember  it.  Now,  from  Philadelphia 
Genet  sent  emissaries  to  the  West  and  Southwest,  to 
arouse  the  people  to  sympathy  with  France,  and  antipathy 
to  their  own  country.  Principal  among  these  were 
Auguste  La  Chaise  and  his  associates,  Delpeau,  Mathurin, 
and  Gignoux.  These  agents  were  provided  with  funds.  A 
"  democratic  society"  had  been  organized  in  Philadelphia, 
modelled  on  the  Jacobin  club  in  Paris.  Other  "  dem- 
ocratic clubs"  were  started  throughout  the  country,  in- 
cluding Georgetown,  Paris,  and  Lexington,  in  Kentucky  ; 
these  clubs  being  meeting-places  for  the  agitators  who 
were  displeased  with  their  government  for  any  cause. 
The  members  wore  white  cockades  to  show  their  love  for 
France,  sang  French  revolutionary  songs,  or  made  a  horrid 
effort  at  it,  denounced  every  policy  designed  to  promote 
peace  and  order,  and  encouraged  resistance  to  taxes. 
Finally  they  were  incited  by  Genet's  emissaries  to  open 
riot  and  revolt ;  and  then  the  mustering  began.  George 
Rogers  Clark  was  given  a  commission  as  brigadier-general 
in  the  French  army  and  was  to  have  command  of  the 
levies  of  this  region.  His  apologists  have  explained  that 
his  engagement  in  this  lawless  enterprise  was  done  in  a 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  53 

moment  of  weakness ;  that  he  was  inveigled  with  the 
assurance  that  "  a  major-general  in  the  armies  of  France, 
and  commander-in-chief  of  the  revolutionary  legion  on  the 
Mississippi "  was  something  finer  than  he  could  hope  for  in 
any  other  service.  The  fact  is  he  had  become  a  hard 
drinker,  and  his  principles  were  loose. 

As  a  French  brigadier,  Clark  issued  proposals  for  vol- 
unteers for  the  reduction  of  the  Spanish  forts  along  the 
Mississippi,  etc.  Flattering  inducements  were  offered. 
All  volunteers  were  to  be  entitled  to  one  thousand  acres 
of  land  each ;  those  who  served  one  year  were  to  have 
two  thousand  acres;  those  who  served  three  years,  or 
during  the  war  between  France  and  Spain,  three  thousand 
acres  of  any  unoccupied  land  that  should  be  conquered, 
officers  in  proportion.  The  pay  was  to  be  the  same  as 
that  of  "  other  French  troops."  All  lawful  plunder  was 
to  be  equally  divided  according  to  the  customs  of  war,  and 
every  soldier  who  entered  the  service  was  to  be  given  the 
choice  of  taking  the  land  or  cash  pay  at  one  dollar  per 
day.  Clark  had  authority  to  make  military  appointments 
in  the  name  of  the  French  republic,  and  he  issued  a  lot  of 
commissions  —  Major  Williamson,  Colonel  Carr,  Captain 
Bird,  etc. 

Never  was  a  more  rapacious  scheme  of  pillage  and 
conquest  projected.  And  the  encouragement  it  received 
from  the  Western  people,  not  only  the  reckless  irrespon- 
sibles,  but  men  of  property  and  high  officials,  is  astounding. 


54  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Kentucky  had  lately  been  admitted  to  the  Union  as  a 
State.  Her  first  governor  was  Colonel  Isaac  Shelby.  He 
had  won  his  title  in  the  War  of  Independence,  serving 
with  distinction  at  King's  Mountain,  and  on  Marion's 
memorable  campaign.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the 
legislature  of  North  Carolina,  and  was  regarded  a  stanch 
patriot,  who  had  done  real  fighting.  Yet  now,  when  the 
very  life  of  the  Union  hung  in  the  balance,  when  Wash- 
ington was  beset  with  troubles  on  every  hand  —  dis- 
sensions in  the  cabinet,  enw  and  distrust  in  nearly  every 
State,  and  his  old  enemy  plotting  on  the  Northern  borders 
—  knowing  all  this,  the  old  soldier  Shelby,  now  a  gov- 
ernor, hearkened  to  the  demagogues,  became  infected  with 
the  excitement  over  French  "  liberty  "  and  the  prospect  of 
conquest,  and  was  ready  to  sanction  an  enterprise  that 
would  disgrace  his  country  and  his  own  fair  name. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  Secretary  of  State,  notified  Shelby  that 
Genet  was  sending  his  agents  to  Kentucky,  and  cautioned 
him  to  prevent  them  from  carrying  out  his  designs. 
Shelby,  replied,  —  "I  think  it  my  duty  to  assure  you 
that  I  shall  be  particularly  attentive  to  prevent  any 
attempts  of  the  nature  of  the  expedition  from  this 
country.  I  am  well  persuaded  at  present  none  such  is 
contemplated  in  this  State,"  etc.  That  was  Oct.  5,  1793. 
On  Nov.  6,  Jefferson  wrote  Shelby  again  not  to  permit  the 
French  emissaries  to  excite  the  people  to  hostile  acts 
against  Spain.  The  Kentucky  legislature  met  that  month, 


GENERAL  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK 

Revolutionary  hero  who  espoused  Genet's  cause 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  55 

and  in  his  message  Shelby  did  not  once  mention  Jefferson's 
instructions,  in  truth  did  not  even  refer  to  the  French 
scheme,  although  it  was  then  under  way.  Nor  did  he 
issue  any  proclamation  against  it.  He  received  communi- 
cations from  La  Chaise,  one  of  which  advised  him  he  had 
letters  to  him  (the  Governor)  from  Genet,  and  saying  he 
would  send  him  a  copy  of  "our  excellent  constitution 
which  has  been  generally  accepted." 

So  they  were  going  to  have  a  constitutional  govern- 
ment anyway,  having  drafted  the  constitution  before  hav- 
ing anything  to  apply  it  to.  Judges  Innes  and  Sebastian 
(Wilkinson's  associates)  and  Governor  Shelby  connived  at 
the  marauding  outfit.  In  January,  1794,  Shelby  wrote  the 
Secretary  of  State  in  a  different  tone  from  his  first  letter. 
It  professed  to  put  the  President  in  possession  of  all  facts 
relating  to  the  uprising,  yet  concealed  from  him  the  cor- 
respondence he  had  had  with  La  Chaise  and  Delpeau,  and 
of  the  letters  sent  to  him  by  Genet.  It  really  suggested 
also  that  nothing  had  been  done,  in  spite  of  Clark's  pro- 
posals for  enlistment,  and  all  the  preparations  that  were 
going  on.  He  no  doubt  hoped  the  expedition  would  get 
on  its  way  before  the  President  could  restrain  it.  He 
now  quibbled  about  his  authority. 

"I  have  grave  doubts,"  he  wrote  Jefferson,  "even  if 
General  Clark  and  the  Frenchmen  attempt  to  carry  this 
plan  into  execution,  whether  there  is  any  legal  authority  to 
restrain  or  punish  them,  at  least  before  they  have  actually 


56  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

accomplished  it,""  and  went  on  pettifogging  about  there 
being  no  law  to  punish  unlawful  intent.  The  enlistments 
were  going  on  while  the  legislature  was  in  session.  No 
action  against  it  was  taken  by  that  body. 

In  the  Spring  of  1794,  an  agent  of  General  Elijah  Clarke, 
of  Georgia,  was  at  Lexington  engaged  in  the  purchase  of  five 
hundred  pounds  of  powder,  one  ton  of  cannon  balls,  and 
provisions  to  be  ready  for  shipment  in  boats  by  April  15. 
Boat-builders  and  other  artisans  were  busy  under  orders 
for  the  expedition.  Some  of  the  United  States  troops 
guarding  the  frontier  against  Indians  deserted  to  join 
the  enterprise.  Clarke  is  said  to  have  had  money  from 
Genet,  and  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Lexington,  if  not 
otherwheres,  secretly  subscribed  to  the  war  fund. 

In  March,  1794,  Spanish  commissioners  laid  before  the 
Secretary  of  State  a  complaint  that  an  expedition  was  pre- 
paring against  East  Florida;  that  an  American,  Colonel 
Samuel  Hammond,  was  to  have  command  of  it ;  that  one 
Captain  Hammond  was  appointed  to  enroll  the  people  in 
the  county  of  Cam  den ;  that  the  troops  to  be  enlisted 
were  to  take  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  France ;  and  that  a 
naval  force  was  ready  to  act  in  concert  with  them.  Also 
that  there  were  in  the  county  of  Camden  sixteen  hundred 
cavalry  in  three  divisions,  under  orders  of  Colonel  Ham- 
mond, who  had  been  appointed  a  brigadier  general  in  the 
French  service,  who  had  the  cavalry  fully  equipped  and 
officered,  with  two  large  magazines  of  provisions  and 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  57 

ammunition  purchased  by  Abner  Hammond,  brother  to  the 
general,  who  had  been  commissioned  colonel.  And  further, 
that  there  were  three  French  frigates  ready  to  sail  from 
the  port  of  Beaufort  with  one  thousand  or  eleven  hundred 
men  on  board,  all  to  attack  East  Florida  by  sea  and  land. 

These  frigates  had  sailed  from  Charleston  and  other 
Southern  ports  against  the  protest  of  the  American 
government.  The  French  sloop-of-war  Las  Casses  an- 
chored off  St.  Marys,  destined  for  Louisiana.  Genet 
granted  commissions  to  raise  troops  in  Ohio,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  Georgia,  and  South  Carolina,  and  probably 
in  other  States.  It  is  estimated  that  over  two  thou- 
sand men  were  enrolled  in  the  Southwest  and  partly 
armed  before  the  President  issued  his  proclamation 
warning  the  people  of  the  consequences  of  engaging  in 
such  outlawry.  Governor  Mathews  of  Georgia  also 
issued  a  proclamation  against  it,  and  the  South  Caro- 
lina legislature  ordered  an  inquiry.  But  Shelby  in 
Kentucky  did  nothing,  although  he  had  been  ordered  to 
use  the  militia  if  necessary.  Finally  Edmund  Randolph, 
who  succeeded  Jefferson  as  Secretary  of  State,  wrote  the 
Governor  sharply  concerning  his  errors.  Shelby,  as  well 
as  the  attorney  general  and  other  State  officials,  frater- 
nized with  members  of  the  rabid  democratic  insurrec- 
tionary clubs,  some  of  them  being  members. 

Shelby's  mind  was  in  a  state  of  moral  degradation 
as  to  his  official  duties  and  responsibilities  when  he 


58  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

could  apologize  for  and  abet  such  an  outrage  against 
the  peace,  safety,  and  dignity  of  his  country.  He  was 
a  distiller,  and  a  gentleman  of  that  school.  Like  many 
others  who  bore  the  taint  of  disloyalty,  he  could  in 
after  years  prate  loud  of  patriotism.  In  1812,  in  a 
Fourth  of  July  address,  he  attempted  to  condone  his 
queer  conduct  of  this  time,  by  explaining  that  he 
intended  to  impress  on  the  government  the  importance 
of  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  apparently  having 
forgotten  that  negotiations  to  open  it  had  at  the  time 
of  this  episode  been  long  under  way,  and  soon  after 
were  consummated.  When  questioned  as  to  this  speech, 
Shelby  admitted  there  was  "  some  inconsistency  "  between 
his  two  letters  to  Jefferson,  but  excused  himself  by 
declaring  he  thought  the  whole  scheme  would  fall  to 
the  ground  without  his  interference ;  and  expressed  his 
regret  that  he  had  for  a  moment  kept  the  President 
uneasy.  It  amuses  one  to  find  that  some  Kentucky 
historians  acquit  him  on  that  "explanation,11  and  it 
astounds  us  to  find  that  Monroe,  when  he  became 
President  in  1817,  offered  Shelby  the  war  secretaryship, 
which  he  would  not  accept  because  of  his  advanced  age. 
Well,  the  whole  harebrained,  treasonable  enterprise 
did  "fall  through,"  but  not  because  of  any  patriotic 
opposition  in  the  South  and  West.  At  the  request  of 
President  Washington,  Genet  was  recalled  by  his  gov- 
ernment, which  declared  the  "citizen"  had  exceeded  his 


GOVERNOR  ISAAC  SHELBY 
Of  Kentucky 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  59 

authority.  When  Fauchet,  successor  to  Genet,  arrived 
and  denounced  the  warlike  proceedings,  Mangourit  at 
Charleston  could  not  credit  it,  and  almost  went  into 
spasms  over  his  disappointment.  It  was  just  in  time 
to  prevent  a  vigorous  attack  on  East  Florida.  But  the 
money  stopped,  Genet  was  out,  and  that  ended  it. 

Probably  a  parallel  case  cannot  be  found  in  history 
where  a  minister  plenipotentiary,  after  openly  insulting 
the  government  to  which  he  was  accredited,  attempted 
to  use  his  credentials  to  enroll  an  army  in  that  country 
for  the  purpose  of  conquest  over  a  third  power  with 
which  his  government  was  at  war  and  the  countiy  in 
which  he  operated  at  peace.  And  when  it  is  considered 
that  his  ultimate  object  was  to  found  an  independent 
government  partly  out  of  territory  to  be  wrested  from 
the  friendly  nation  receiving  him,  it  appears  a  case  so 
monstrous  as  not  likely  ever  to  be  repeated. 

Yet  after  his  outrageous  acts  had  been  repudiated  by 
his  government,  —  acts  so  desperate  that  he  dared  not 
go  home  and  face  the  consequences,  —  it  seems  incon- 
gruous that  he  should  have  become  a  respected  Ameri- 
can citizen,  marrying  a  daughter  of  Governor  Clinton 
of  New  York.  One  of  his  biographers  asserts  that  he 
became  an  ornament  to  society.  Whether  that  was 
intended  as  a  compliment  to  Genet  or  a  reflection  upon 
the  society  of  his  day  is  unimportant. 


CHAPTER   III 


Wilkinson,  again  in  the  Army,  still  Conspires  with  Spanish  Governors 
—  Disgrace  of  Senator  Blount  —  Examples  of  Land  Operations  — 
Romantic  Career  of  Renegade  Bowles. 

URING  the  frenzy 
generated  by  Genet 
little  was  heard  of 
Wilkinson.  That 
Genet  was  auda- 
ciously  infringing 
upon  his  own  secret 
letters  patent  of 
treason,  although 
with  a  differently 
declared  object, 
caused  him  much 
chagrin.  He  was 
now  in  the  army 
again,  having  re- 
entered  the  service  in  1791  as  a  lieutenant-colonel,  and 
was  drawing  a  salary  from  the  United  States  government 
under  the  sworn  duty  of  protecting  it,  and  another  from 
Spain  for  promoting  plans  to  shatter  it.  He  was  in  charge 
of  the  militia  along  the  Ohio.  His  trading  ventures 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  61 

ended  in  bankruptcy.  He  was  always  profligate,  "  with 
debts  as  numerous  as  his  creditors  were  clamorous. " 
There  had  been  a  change  of  governors  in  Louisiana, 
Carondelet  having  succeeded  Miro,  but  the  same  rela- 
tions were  maintained  with  Wilkinson.  That  explains 
why  the  latter  did  not  appear  in  any  way  as  a  supporter 
of  the  Frenchman's  scheme.  He  impressed  upon  the 
Spaniards  that  he  was  doing  them  noble  service  in  dis- 
couraging the  threatened  invasion  of  their  possessions  — 
and  requested  corresponding  rewards.  So  he  really  turned 
Genet's  operation  to  his  own  advantage. 

Carondelet  was  not  idle  during  the  preparations  for 
seizing  his  province.  He  began  strengthening  his  forces 
and  outposts  for  defence,  and  when  the  danger  blew  over 
he  himself  had  contracted  the  Southwest-Empire  fever. 
It  appeared  to  him  clear  that  he  must  attach  a  part  of  the 
American  Republic  or  it  would  soon  attach  his  province. 
He  became,  therefore,  a  more  eager  negotiator  with  the 
disgruntled  Americans  than  Miro  had  been.  He  showed 
during  the  next  decade  that  his  Spanish  provincial  harp 
was  one  of  a  single  string  —  division  of  the  Union. 

Wilkinson  and  Carondelet,  after  a  couple  of  years  of 
plotting  without  changing  the  situation  a  great  deal,  ran 
against  further  ill-fortune  ;  for  after  long  diplomatic  fen- 
cing, a  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Spain  was 
signed  Oct.  20,  1795.  This  memorable  treaty  swept  away 
the  principal  causes  of  complaint  which  had  been  alleged  as 


62  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

a  basis  of  Southwestern  disloyalty.  It  fixed  the  boundary 
between  the  United  States  and  Florida  and  provided  for 
the  appointment  of  a  joint  commission  to  survey  it.  It  was 
stipulated  in  the  same  treaty  that  the  Mississippi  River 
should  be  open  to  the  navigation  of  both  nations  from 
its  source  to  the  sea,  and  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  would  be  permitted  to  use  the  port  of  New  Orleans 
as  a  place  of  deposit  for  their  shipments. 

But  Governor  Carondelet  affected  to  take  this  treaty  in 
a  Pickwickian  sense.  He  exhibited  the  true  genius  of  his 
nationality  by  declaring  it  had  been  entered  into  by  the 
King  of  Spain  as  a  "  court  of  finesse  "  —  as  a  sop  to  the 
Americans  till  he  could  get  rid  of  some  of  his  pressing 
troubles  nearer  home,  when  he  would  assert  his  rights; 
that  is,  he  would  repudiate  it.  True  it  was  the  Spaniards 
had  been  forced  to  yield  as  the  only  means  of  pacifying 
the  American  government,  which  was  forced  to  turn 
the  screws  on  to  pacify  its  Western  Territories.  And  so 
Spain  began  to  seek  to  evade  carrying  out  its  provisions. 
Instead  of  dismantling  the  posts  along  the  Mississippi, 
Carondelet  set  about  more  strongly  fortifying  those  at 
Natchez,  Walnut  Hill,  and  Baton  Rouge.  This  no  doubt 
was  done  with  the  connivance  of  Wilkinson,  the  claim 
being  made  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  protection  of 
the  Spanish  subjects  against  Indians ;  when  as  a  fact  the 
Indians  had  been  bribed  to  surround  them,  and  so  furnish 
the  pretext. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  63 

Carondelet  also  had  another  pretext,  and  a  truer  argu- 
ment. He  said  he  had  information  that  the  British  in 
Canada  were  again  conspiring  with  certain  Americans  in 
the  Mississippi  River  districts  for  the  organization  of  an 
expedition  to  descend  that  river  and  capture  New  Orleans. 
This  was  a  fact.  Wilkinson  had  no  doubt  kept  his  Excel- 
lency informed  as  to  the  overtures  of  the  British  in  this 
direction.  Governor  Blount,  of  Tennessee,  was  implicated, 
to  his  regret,  as  will  be  seen  further  on.  And  oddly  enough 
it  was  an  Englishman,  one  Power,  though  naturalized  in 
Louisiana,  whom  Carondelet  selected  as  an  agent  to  send 
to  the  people  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  with  direct 
proposals  to  shift  their  allegiance  from  the  Union.  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Spain  all  considered  the  people  of  that 
region  as  infected  with  treason  at  this  period,  and  each 
bid  against  the  other  to  buy  them. 

Carondelet  sent  Power  up  the  river  to  make  his  offer. 
Abouo  the  only  thing  the  people  in  that  region  had  to 
complain  of  against  their  government  now  was  the  tax  on 
whiskey,  but  that  was  a  good  deal — to  them.  Power  went 
among  them  authorized  to  offer  all  kinds  of  commercial 
privileges  and  exemptions.  In  fact  Carondelet  promised 
them  about  everything  he  supposed  they  wanted.  Power 
let  it  be  known  to  the  leading  citizens  that  they  could 
have  $100,000  and  the  backing  of  Spanish  troops  if  they 
would  revolt.  Wilkinson  had  again  got  into  his  easy 
habit  of  acquiring  military  promotions  —  his  intrigue  with 


64  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

Spain  did  not  interfere  in  the  least.  He  was  now  a  major- 
general.  Power  had  $10,000  for  him  on  this  trip,  which 
was  secreted  in  barrels  of  sugar  and  bags  of  coffee.  And 
he  got  it. 

"The  army  is  devoted  to  their  talented  and  brilliant 
commander""  —  this  is  what  Power  said  to  Wilkinson, 
apparently  ignorant  of  past  transactions;  "it  requires 
but  firmness  and  resolution  on  your  part  to  render  the 
Western  people  free  and  happy.  Can  a  man  of  your 
superior  genius  prefer  a  subordinate  and  contracted 
position  as  the  commander  of  the  small  and  insignifi- 
cant army  of  the  United  States  to  the  glory  of  being 
the  founder  of  an  empire,  —  the  liberator  of  so  many 
millions  of  his  countrymen,  —  the  Washington  of  the 
West  ?  Will  not  the  people,  at  the  slightest  movement 
on  your  part,  hail  you  as  the  chief  of  the  new  republic  ? 
Would  not  your  reputation  alone  enable  you  to  raise 
an  army  which  France  and  Spain  would  help  you  pay  ? 
The  eyes  of  the  world  are  fixed  on  you  .  .  .  but 
should  Spain  be  forced  to  execute  the  treaty  of  1795, 
then  the  bright  vision  of  independence  for  the  Western 
people,  and  of  the  most  exalted  position  and  imperish- 
able renown  for  yourself  must  forever  vanish ! " 

Now  that  was  just  the  kind  of  thing  Wilkinson 
liked  ;  it  was  as  intoxicating  to  him  as  whiskey.  But 
courage  in  the  business  had  long  since  begun  to  fail 
him.  The  temper  of  the  people  had  changed  with  the 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  65 

opening  of  the  river,  and  he  could  not  lead  them.  He 
was  aware  that  the  suspicions  of  his  government  rested  on 
him,  and  he  desired  to  retain  his  command.  He  had  for 
ten  years  been  a  recipient  of  favors  from  Spain,  —  money, 
privileges,  tax  exemptions,  —  but  now  he  began  to  treat 
the  Spaniards  coolly,  and  advised  them  to  accept  the 
terms  of  the  treaty.  He  also  complained  that  the  Span- 
ish governors  had  divulged  his  correspondence  with 
them ;  that  he  himself  had  burned  the  letters  received, 
and  destroyed  the  cipher  used.  Yet  he  had  designs. 
He  still  hoped  to  be  appointed  Governor  of  the  Natchez 
district.  Then  he  would  not  lack  an  opportunity  of 
realizing  his  long-cherished  dream. 

As  for  the  correspondence,  Miro  sent  copies  of  Wil- 
kinson's letters,  —  all  those  in  which  he  declared  himself 
a  good  Spaniard,  that  he  was  devoting  all  his  energies 
to  effect  a  separation  of  Kentucky  from  the  Union  and 
its  attachment  to  Louisiana,  and  in  which  he  solicited 
and  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  money  for  his  traitorous 
work,  —  copies  of  all  were  sent  to  Spain.  Most  of  the 
originals  were  in  cipher.  The  copies  are  among  the 
Madrid  archives.  Mr.  Gayarre,  the  scholarly  historian  of 
Louisiana,  states  that  some  years  ago  copies  of  those  docu- 
ments were  made  at  the  request  of  the  Louisiana  legis- 
lature, under  supervision  of  Romulus  Saunders,  United 
States  minister  to  Spain ;  which  copies  are  now  in  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  of  Louisiana. 

5 


66  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

The  British  design  referred  to  did  not  include  a  dis- 
memberment of  the  Union.  Along  with  the  papers 
transferred  to  Congress  in  relation  to  the  Spanish  busi- 
ness, was  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  William  Blount,  then 
Governor  of  the  Southwest  Territory,  later  a  senator  in 
Congress  from  Tennessee,  addressed  to  one  of  the  agents 
among  the  Cherokees,  who  sent  it  to  the  President.  It 
was  plain  from  this  letter  that  Blount  was  engaged  in 
an  intrigue  for  joining  the  British  in  an  expedition  to 
capture  New  Orleans  and  the  adjacent  territory.  Great 
Britain  was  to  furnish  the  naval  force,  and  Blount  a  regi- 
ment of  frontiersmen  and  Indians.  Hildreth  gives  a  full 
report  of  this  affair  —  the  State  historians  of  Tennessee 
barely  allude  to  it. 

Blount  was  badly  involved  in  land  speculations  in 
Tennessee,  and  had  plans  for  unloading  on  an  English 
company.  He  feared  they  would  be  blocked  by  the 
transfer  of  Louisiana  with  the  outlet  of  the  Mississippi 
to  France,  as  it  was  now  rumored  was  coming  about. 

"  Conceiving  that  it  would  be  for  the  interest  of  the 
Western  people,  as  well  as  for  his  own  private  benefit  as 
a  land  speculator,  that  Louisiana  should  pass  into  the 
hands  of  England,  he  relied  upon  his  influence  with 
the  backwoodsmen  of  Tennessee  and  with  Southern 
Indians,  among  whom  he  had  long  acted  as  agent, 
to  raise  the  necessary  force.  He  had  engaged  as 
his  chief  cooperator  one  Chisholm,  a  wild  backwoodsman 


GOVERNOR  WILLIAM  BLOUNT 

Of  Tennessee 


V      •  '    ..  !  . 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  67 

who  hated  the  Spaniards  because  of  his  collisions  with 
them ;  and  in  his  letter,  laid  before  Congress,  he 
sought  to  engage  the  services  of  the  Indian  agent 
addressed.  Upon  this  evidence  the  House  voted  to 
impeach  Senator  Blount,  of  which  they  sent  up  notice 
to  the  Senate.  The  Senate  concurred  and  then  required 
him  to  give  security  for  his  appearance  in  $20,000." 

The  British  minister,  Mr.  Listen,  was  asked  for  an  ex- 
planation of  the  matter,  and  he  acknowledged  having 
given  Chisholm  letters  to  English  statesmen,  who  rejected 
the  proposal,  as  Liston  declared.  Anyway,  there  was  a 
great  outcry  against  the  seduction  of  British  gold,  which 
has  frequently  been  heard  since. 

The  House  having  requested  that  till  the  impeachment 
should  be  decided  Blount  should  be  sequestered  from  his 
seat,  the  Senate,  after  hearing  his  counsel,  proceeded  to 
expel  him.  There  was  only  one  negative  vote.  His  sure- 
ties had  been  his  brother,  also  a  congressman,  and  another 
member  of  the  House,  who  surrendered  him  into  custody 
and  were  discharged  from  their  bond.  But  he  was  soon 
released  on  other  surety  to  appear  and  answer  to  the 
charge  at  the  next  session. 

The  Blounts  were  full  of  Southwestern  bravado.  The 
brother  had  already  immortalized  himself  in  Congress  by 
calling  for  the  yeas  and  nays  on  the  complimentary  address 
to  Washington,  and  sent  a  challenge  to  Thatcher  of 
Boston  who  had  retorted,  and  who  declined  it.  Hildreth 


68  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

says  Congressman  Blount  acted  in  this  affair  the  back- 
woods bully  and  blackguard. 

At  the  next  session,  Senator  Blount  not  appearing,  the 
sergeant-at-arms  of  the  Senate,  James  Mathers,  went  to 
Knoxville  to  arrest  him  and  take  him  to  Philadelphia. 
After  service  of  process  upon  Blount  the  sergeant-at-arms 
found  it  impossible  to  take  him  along.  Blount  refused  to 
go,  and  everybody  sided  with  him.  Mathers  found  them 
all  polite,  and  was  treated  more  than  civilly.  He  even 
became  for  several  days  Blount's  guest,  and  was  enter- 
tained by  the  State  authorities.  Finally  he  issued  sum- 
mons for  a  posse  to  assist  him.  Not  a  man  responded. 
He  appealed  to  the  United  States  marshal  of  the  district, 
but  that  official  modestly  declared  he  had  no  influence  in 
the  community.  It  looked  very  much  as  if,  however 
guilty  the  senator  had  been,  they  were  all  of  his  plane  of 
morals.  So  Mathers  went  back  to  Philadelphia  without 
his  quarry. 

The  impeachment  trial  in  the  Senate  resulted  in  a  dis- 
missal of  the  proceedings  on  the  argument  that  Blount 
was  no  longer  a  senator,  having  been  expelled,  and  that 
he  should  enjoy  the  right  of  a  trial  by  jury  in  the  State 
or  district  where  the  alleged  crime  had  been  committed. 
But  in  the  House  the  case  dragged  through  the  whole  ses- 
sion. Every  obstacle  was  raised  by  members  who  feared 
such  a  precedent,  perhaps  for  personal  reasons.  Out  of 
the  affair  grew  several  disgraceful  broils  in  the  House. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  69 

Lyon,  a  Southern  member,  taking  offence  at  a  fancied 
insult  by  Griswold,  of  Connecticut,  spat  in  his  face.  Next 
day  Griswold  pounced  upon  Lyon  in  his  seat  and  gave 
him  a  beating  with  a  cane.  Then  they  clinched  and  went 
to  the  floor,  where  they  punched  and  gouged  and  choked 
each  other.  Griswold  landed  topside  of  his  antagonist, 
and  at  length  was  dragged  off.  Then  the  Speaker,  who 
had  looked  on  silently  with  the  air  of  a  referee  at  a  Ten- 
nessee dog-fight,  called  the  House  to  order. 

Some  strait-laced  member  tried  to  cast  a  shadow  over 
the  entertainment  by  moving  to  expel  the  combatants,  but 
it  was  lost,  as  was  also  a  resolution  of  censure.  It  had 
been  too  diverting  an  incident. 

To  lend  greater  piquancy  to  the  impeachment  matter, 
a  senator  of  the  legislature  of  Tennessee,  which  assembled 
about  the  same  time,  resigned  in  favor  of  Blount,  who  was 
then  elected  president  of  the  State  senate  by  a  unanimous 
vote.  And  he  filled  that  office  while  his  trial  proceeded 
in  Congress.  The  people  did  not  consider  the  act  of 
which  he  was  accused  a  punishable  crime.  The  prosecu- 
tion popularized  him,  and  he  would  have  been  elected 
Governor  but  for  his  early  death.  The  whole  episode 
forcibly  illustrates  the  temper  and  ideas  of  the  Southwest- 
ern people  at  that  time. 

Blount's  land  "  speculations  "  were  typical.  For  decades 
the  principal  medium  of  tricky  financial  schemes  through- 
out the  West  and  South  was  land.  For  years  there  were 


70  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

practically  no  preemption  laws,  and  the  first  acts  of  Con- 
gress designed  to  protect  the  bona  fide  settler  in  his  hold- 
ings, and  prevent  speculative  monopolies  of  the  public 
domain,  fell  far  short  of  serving  the  purpose  efficiently. 
The  preemption  bill  which  was  passed  during  the  Jack- 
son regime  improved  things,  but  no  law  has  ever  been  de- 
vised to  stop  effectually  the  speculative  pirates.  During 
the  whole  development  of  the  country  the  land-shark  has 
been  a  pest  and  an  object  of  hatred  to  the  home-makers. 
He  has  robbed  them  without  mercy.  His  wiles  were 
terror  and  mystery  to  the  honest  settler,  who  not  infre- 
quently undertook  to  clear  them  away  with  his  shot-gun. 
In  the  early  decades  land-robbery  was  a  fruitful  source  of 
violence,  and  at  the  bottom  of  most  litigation. 

An  intelligent  traveller  through  the  Southwest  as 
late  as  1834,  explained  in  some  detail  some  of  the 
tricks  of  land-grabbing.  After  surveying  the  country 
into  sections,  land  offices  were  established  and  sales 
advertised  at  certain  times,  the  most  desirable  lands 
to  go  to  the  highest  bidder.  What  remained  unsold  for 
want  of  bidders  was  open  to  be  entered  at  the  mini- 
mum price  of  $1.25  an  acre.  Nothing,  apparently, 
could  be  fairer;  but  sharp  practice  under  the  system 
was  easy  and  constant.  The  settler  would  choose  his 
section,  build  a  cabin,  make  a  clearing,  plant  a  crop, 
and  prepare  to  bid  in  his  tract  on  sales-day.  By 
conniving  with  the  politicians  and  "  fixing  "  things  with 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  71 

the  land  agent,  the  "speculators'"  would  go  to  such 
settlers  and  tell  them  they  were  going  to  bid  against 
them  for  their  lands.  The  pioneer  had  little  money. 
He  had  only  the  alternative  of  abandoning  his  tract  or 
of  making  a  ruinous  compromise.  The  latter  was  often 
done  by  arranging  to  let  the  sharks  take  the  title  from 
the  government,  the  settler  to  get  title  from  them.  In- 
stead of  getting  their  farms  for  the  minimum  govern- 
ment price,  they  would  have  to  pay  several  times  the 
amount  in  this  way,  and  that  usually  meant  securing 
the  purchase  money  by  a  mortgage.  "  Thus  is  the  once 
cheerful  settler  weighed  down  with  a  heavy  debt  that 
presses  upon  him  and  converts  him  into  a  slave  to  a 
set  of  unprincipled  harpies.1' 

But  that  was  not  the  most  atrocious  operation.  If 
the  settler  refused  to  compromise,  the  speculator  out- 
bid him.  Under  an  apparently  just  regulation,  if  the 
price  bid  was  not  paid  within  a  certain  number  of 
hours,  the  fact  was  stated  at  the  opening  of  the 
sale  the  next  morning,  and  the  sale  declared  void. 
The  settler,  confident  that  the  bidder  against  him  would 
not  put  up  the  money,  would  wait  for  this.  When 
the  list  of  defalcations  was  read,  "  he  is  overjoyed  to  find 
his  own  section  is  among  the  lot,  goes  to  the  clerk  as 
soon  as  the  register  is  open,  and  directs  his  name  to  be 
put  down  as  the  purchaser  at  the  minimum  price  of 
$1.25  an  acre,"  which  that  individual  is  bound  to  do, 


72  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

the  tract  remaining  unsold  by  the  defalcation.  The 
clerk  would  inform  him,  however,  that  another  person 
had  just  entered  his  name  for  that  parcel.  The  de- 
luded and  unfortunate  home-maker  saw  that  the  clerk 
was  a  confederate  of  the  sharpers,  and  that  he  was 
truly  "  buncoed,"  without  benefit  either  of  law  or  clergy. 
The  writer  quoted  adds :  "  These  vile  transactions  have 
been  repeated  too  often,  and  in  some  instances  the 
names  of  individuals  have  been  coupled  with  them  that 
ought  to  have  been  free  from  every  taint  of  suspicion." 

But  these  were  mere  picayune  enterprises  compared  to 
some  of  the  earlier  days,  when  the  land-jobbers  worked 
in  companies.  They  operated  frequently  on  the  basis  of 
grants.  The  scope  and  possibilities  of  some  of  the 
pioneer  schemes  were  enough  to  make  the  most  am- 
bitious real  estate  dealer  of  to-day  feel  like  hiding  his 
diminished  head.  It  is  worth  while  pausing  to  survey 
one  or  two  of  them.  The  whole  object  and  ambition  of 
the  adventurers  under  review  hinged  on  land-grabbing. 

Georgia  claimed,  under  a  charter  from  Charles  II, 
all  the  territory  from  Savannah  to  the  Mississippi 
between  the  thirty-first  and  thirty-fifth  degrees  of  lati- 
tude. As  early  as  1783  she  created  the  county  of 
Bourbon  —  a  territory  somewhat  smaller  than  Russia  — 
including  the  settlements  along  the  Mississippi.  It 
indicates  the  vast  assumption  of  State  sovereignty 
when  Governor  Telfair  approved  an  act  of  the  general 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  73 

assembly  authorizing  the  conditional  sale  of  the  great 
domain.  Coincident  with  this  act  the  South  Carolina 
Yazoo  Company  was  organized.  Georgia  sold  to  this 
company  five  million  acres  in  the  Mississippi  territory 
for  $60,000.  Following  hard  after  was  the  Virginia 
Yazoo  Company,  to  which  was  sold  seven  million 
acres  for  $93,000.  Next  came  the  Tennessee  Company, 
which  got  an  allotment  of  three  million  five  hundred 
thousand  acres  in  northern  Alabama  for  $46,000.  To 
be  sure,  Spain  claimed  this  territory  —  or  at  least  the 
most  of  it — by  conquest  from  England  made  under 
young  Galvez  during  the  American  Revolution,  and  that 
nation  and  the  United  States  were  then  negotiating  to 
settle  the  disputed  question  of  boundaries;  but  that 
did  not  deter  Georgia  from  going  ahead  as  if  she  were 
a  separate  world  power.  It  was  understood  that  the 
Indians  were  to  be  dispossessed.  Because  of  these 
"extraordinary  sales,"  as  the  good  Alabama  historian, 
Pickett,  calls  them,  there  seemed  to  be  impending  a 
many-cornered  collision  between  all  the  powers  con- 
cerned. It  all  occurring  in  the  days  of  rugged  hon- 
esty, there  is  no  room  for  suspicion,  of  course,  that  the 
members  of  the  legislature  or  his  Excellency  the  Gov- 
ernor had  any  other  interest  in  the  business  than  the 
promotion  of  civilization. 

Washington  failed  to  appreciate  the   blessings   latent 
in   the  sales,  and   unfeelingly  put  his  veto  on   them  by 


74  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

proclamation.  But  the  Tennessee  Company  heeded  it  not. 
They  built  a  blockhouse  on  Muscle  Shoals  Island,  in  the 
Tennessee  River,  and  other  strongholds,  which  they  placed 
in  command  of  one  Zachariah  Coxe,  and  prepared  to  sell 
off  their  lands  to  immigrants.  But  the  audacious  company 
overleaped  itself.  The  government  sent  orders  to  Gov- 
ernor Blount  to  stop  the  proceeding ;  and  Blount,  being 
interested  in  other  land  schemes,  very  willingly  complied. 
He  organized  the  Cherokee  Indians,  already  complainants 
against  the  intruders,  burnt  the  blockhouse,  and  drove 
Coxe  and  his  speculators  out. 

The  South  Carolina  Yazoo  Company  had  all  the  assur- 
ance its  name  suggests.  This  corporation  raised  troops 
in  Kentucky,  issued  military  commissions,  and  attempted 
to  take  the  Natchez  country  from  the  Spaniards  regardless 
of  any  action  of  government.  It  was  perhaps  as  bold  a 
movement  as  any  corporation  ever  attempted  on  this  conti- 
nent. The  head  and  front  of  the  pushing  concern  was  a 
Doctor  O'Fallon,  and  his  actions  seemed  to  indicate  that 
he  had  ideas  of  an  independent  government.  But  the 
Spaniards  made  a  loud  protest  to  the  Federal  govern- 
ment, and  by  express  orders  of  the  President  the  cheeky 
CTFallon  was  arrested.  That  put  an  end  to  the  scheme. 
The  companies  defaulted  on  payments,  —  the  promoters 
were  not  so  innocent  as  to  pay  for  anything  they  could 
not  sell,  —  and  the  grants  were  declared  void.  On  account 
of  these  transactions,  Washington  was  abused  some  more 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  75 

as  a  tyrant,  mostly  by  people  who  had  lost  money  fitting 
out  intended  expeditions  to  the  speculative  promised  lands. 

But  in  1795  occurred  the  real,  simon-pure  Yazoo 
operation.  The  government  decided  that  the  districts 
involved  in  the  old  grants  in  right  appertained  to  Georgia  ; 
but,  of  course,  that  did  not  imply  the  right  of  that  com- 
monwealth to  make  treaties  and  act  as  a  distinct  national 
power.  However,  as  soon  as  the  terms  of  the  treaty  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Spain  were  announced,  her 
real  estate  business  took  another  boom.  The  Georgia  Com- 
pany was  organized.  For  $250,000  this  company  bought 
what  now  constitutes  forty-one  counties  in  Alabama 
and  Mississippi.  Then  came  the  Georgia-Mississippi 
Company,  and  for  $150,000  bought  what  is  now  thirty- 
four  counties,  and  later  a  similar  tract  for  $35,000.  The 
Tennessee  Company  —  probably  a  reorganization  of  the 
old  concern  of  that  name  —  took  some  thirteen  counties 
for  $60,000.  These  transactions  totalled  twenty-one  mil- 
lion five  hundred  thousand  acres  for  about  $500,000.  The 
purchasing  companies,  under  the  terms  agreed  upon,  paid 
down  one-fifth  of  the  purchase  price  and  secured  titles. 

The  annals  of  the  period  state  that  there  was  a  good 
deal  of  excitement  in  the  Georgia  legislature  when  the 
acts  were  passed,  and  from  the  hints  given  therein  it  may 
be  understood  that  "  modern  methods  "  in  financial  legisla- 
tion were  highly  developed  even  then.  But  a  great  and 
menacing  howl  went  up  from  the  people,  —  the  proletariat 


76  THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

that  is  always  "  heading  in  "  to  make  trouble.  All  over 
the  States  involved  the  protests  rumbled  and  roared,  till 
the  Yazoo  fairly  faltered  in  its  course.  A  great  convention 
was  held  at  Louisville  (Ga.)  which  many  prominent  men 
attended,  and  where  hundreds  of  petitions  were  read  charg- 
ing vast  fraud  and  conspiracy  on  the  part  of  legislators  and 
State  officials.  But  in  the  face  of  all  this,  the  corporations 
came  forward  and  made  payment  in  full  for  the  lands. 

Washington  was  astounded.  Congress  passed  a  resolu- 
tion instructing  the  attorney -general  to  investigate  the 
titles  which  the  companies  had  got.  However,  that  proved 
unnecessary.  Before  the  chief  law  officer  of  the  govern- 
ment got  around  to  his  work,  the  people  of  Georgia  had 
elected  a  new  legislature  and  governor.  They  "turned 
the  rascals  out."  Everybody  went  to  Louisville  again 
and  paraded  in  a  great  procession.  The  "Yazoo  act*" 
was  expunged  from  the  records  and,  as  the  history  runs, 
the  bill  itself  was  consumed  in  the  public  square  by  fire 
from  heaven.  This  celestial  caloric  was  obtained  by 
using  a  sunglass  on  the  document. 

And  so,  what  was  perhaps  the  most  stupendous  land- 
grab  in  the  history  of  the  States  was  frustrated  by  popular 
determination  ;  but  many  —  hundreds,  it  is  stated  —  had 
already  moved  to  the  lands,  and  the  losses  they  sustained, 
together  with  all  the  litigation  and  vexation  that  resulted, 
must  have  been  very  serious.  As  for  the  State  itself,  the 
Federal  government  settled  the  matter  with  Georgia  by 


THE   G^ORY   SEEKERS  77 

paying  her  $1,250,000  for  the  whole  tract.  In  this  dis- 
trict the  United  States  subsequently  recognized  all  prior 
Spanish  and  British  grants,  but  not  the  Yazoo  claims. 
After  this  adjustment  the  people  were  impatient  for  the 
survey  of  the  boundary  line,  as  provided  for  in  the  Spanish- 
American  treaty.  In  fact,  it  was  stipulated  that  commis- 
sioners should  attend  to  this  within  six  months  after  the 
ratification  of  the  treaty. 

The  stubbornness  of  Carondelet,  before  mentioned,  de- 
layed the  prosecution  of  the  survey.  Colonel  Andrew 
Ellicott,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  Don 
Manuel  Gayoso  de  Lemos,  on  the  part  of  Spain,  were 
entrusted  with  the  important  undertaking.  In  spite  of 
Spanish  procrastination  Ellicott  ran  up  the  American  flag 
at  Natchez.  Gayoso,  when  called  on,  always  pleaded 
manana.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  foolish  person,  for 
when  the  aroused  Americans  finally  threatened  an  inva- 
sion, he  issued  a  proclamation  asking  them  to  submit  to 
the  Spanish  rule  until  all  differences  could  be  settled. 
But  at  last  he  got  around  to  it,  and  the  work  proceeded. 
In  this  instance  the  threats  of  the  settlers  against  the 
Spaniards  were  provoked,  although  there  was  hardly  any 
time,  from  the  War  of  Independence  to  the  annexation 
of  Texas  and  the  Mexican  War,  that  the  Americans  were 
not  rudely,  violently  trespassing  on  Spanish  or  Mexican 
territory,  and  without  just  provocation  seeking  in  some 
way  or  other  to  despoil  the  inhabitants. 


78  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

While  he  was  a  renegade  and  not  an  American  citizen, 
no  story  of  such  aggressions  should  be  told  without  in- 
cluding mention  of  that  rare  and  interesting  rascallion, 
William  Augustus  Bowles.  A  native  of  Maryland,  he 
ran  away  and  enlisted  in  the  British  army  at  fourteen. 
After  a  year's  service  against  his  countrymen,  he  sailed 
as  ensign  with  a  regiment  to  Jamaica  and  thence  to  Pensa- 
cola  (1 777).  Growing  impudent,  he  was  degraded ;  so 
he  flung  his  uniform  into  the  sea  and  fled  to  the  Indians. 
On  the  Tallapoosa  he  married  the  daughter  of  a  chief,  and 
acquired  a  high  and  bad  influence  over  the  red  men.  He 
led  a  band  of  Creeks  to  aid  General  Campbell  against  the 
Spaniards,  when  the  latter  made  their  brilliant  campaign 
under  Galvez. 

Then  Bowles  broke  away  from  savage  life  and  went  to 
New  York.  He  was  a  good  deal  of  a  genius  ;  became  an 
actor,  was  also  a  portrait  painter,  and  studied  languages. 
He  drifted  on  the  waves  of  circumstances  to  the  Bahamas, 
and  ingratiated  himself  with  the  Governor,  Lord  Dunmore, 
who  had  just  seized  a  schooner  with  six  thousand  piastres 
belonging  to  Panton  and  Leslie,  a  Georgia  firm,  as  contra- 
band. The  war  being  over,  a  British  court  ordered  the 
schooner  given  back.  This  put  Dunmore  in  high  dudg- 
eon. He  previously  had  a  grudge  against  Panton,  and  he 
engaged  Bowles  to  return  to  Georgia  and  work  vengeance 
on  him  and  his  partners.  Bowles  soon  was  a  sworn  enemy 
of  Panton,  McGillivray,  the  Scotch,  French,  and  all  other 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  79 

kinds  of  Georgians.  They  ran  him  out,  but  with  the  help 
of  Dunmore  he  organized  a  company  of  Indians  for  the 
nominal  purpose  of  aiding  them  against  aggression,  but 
really  to  prey  on  the  Spaniards  in  the  interest  of  England. 
In  this  he  had  British  support. 

Soon  he  began  pirating  on  Panton's  vessels,  captured 
several,  ran  them  up  the  bayous,  and  indulged  in  riotous 
luxury.  From  the  schooners  he  got  liquors,  provisions, 
and  other  Georgia  products,  with  which  he  debauched  his 
followers  and  set  up  a  revelry  in  the  forests  that  startled 
the  panthers.  He  was  joined  by  one  Willbanks,  a  refugee 
Tory  from  New  York,  and  they  pretended  to  have  posses- 
sion of  the  country  for  the  English.  Finally,  McGillivray 
captured  Bowles,  put  him  in  chains,  and  sent  him  to 
Madrid.  There  he  landed  in  a  grewsome  prison,  dank 
and  grim  and  noisome  as  centuries  could  make  it,  with 
the  Spaniards  very  much  against  him.  It  looked  to  be 
the  sunset  of  opportunity  for  Bowles. 

But  when  Colonel  Ellicott,  after  vicissitudes  by  river  and 
wild,  having  his  horses  stolen  by  savages  and  being  him- 
self harshly  threatened,  finished  running  the  line  between 
Spanish  and  American  possessions  and  reached  the  sea  at 
Fox  Point,  he  found  a  wrecked  schooner  of  the  British 
navy,  and  with  its  outfit  was  Bowles  —  General  Bowles, 
so  please  you,  by  British  commission.  This  seemed  very 
odd,  remembering  that  the  dare-devil  had  been  planted 
away  in  a  Spanish  dungeon  a  couple  of  years  before. 


80  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

This  is  the  way  it  happened.  It  came  to  the  ears  of 
his  most  Christian  Majesty,  the  King,  that  the  daring 
pirate  they  had  in  the  vault  was  a  man  of  great  influence 
among  the  Florida  Indians,  especially  the  Creeks.  Then 
it  occurred  to  the  King  that  the  desperate  foe  in  captivity 
might  be  conciliated  and  turned  to  great  advantage.  So 
he  offered  him  a  military  title  and  big  pay  to  return  to 
Florida  in  the  Spanish  service,  and  contribute  to  strength- 
ening the  province  by  organizing  the  red  warriors.  But 
Bowles  was  sulky,  and  would  not  listen  to  it.  The  King, 
rather  pleased  at  the  spirit  of  the  prisoner,  then  ordered 
that  he  be  transferred  from  the  dungeon  to  well-furnished 
apartments,  provided  with  servants,  and  served  with  luxu- 
ries, with  the  idea  of  softening  his  rancor  and  winning 
him  over.  That  seemed  to  Bowles  too  good  to  relinquish 
at  once,  so  he  continued  to  hold  out,  and  to  receive  more 
tempting  offers.  "Perhaps  they'll  want  to  make  me 
prime  minister  pretty  soon,"  said  Bowles  ;  and  he  tippled 
again,  set  those  around  him  in  a  roar  with  mimicry  and 
spicy  jokes,  and  still  swore  hatred  to  the  Spanish. 

After  this  had  gone  on  for  a  while  Bowles  was  thinking 
it  about  time  to  relent,  when  the  guards  came  in  with  the 
shackles  one  day  and  fastened  him  up  again.  He  had 
played  his  game  too  far ;  all  bids  had  been  withdrawn ; 
and  Bowles  was  hustled  on  board  a  prison  ship,  chained  in, 
and  ticketed  for  Manila. 

No  doubt  the  man  had  really  captivated  some  of  the 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  81 

Spaniards.  Early  writers  assert  that  he  had  "  a  winning 
address  and  gentleness  of  mien  which  did  not  exclude, 
when  occasion  required  it,  the  imposing  and  stern  aspect 
of  command.  His  was  the  sweetest  of  smiles,  femininely 
beautiful,  and  indicative  of  the  bubbling  well  of  kindness 
within ;  with  the  dark  eyebrow  that  shaded  at  times  the 
glance  of  fire.  He  was  one  of  those  impassioned  beings, 
4  demons  in  act,  but  gods  at  least  in  face,'  whom  Byron 
delighted  to  paint." 

All  the  same,  he  was  a  bold,  dangerous  man ;  and  three 
nations  knew  it.  He  was  taken  to  the  Philippines,  kept 
there  some  months,  and  was  being  returned  for  some  pur- 
pose when  he  escaped  at  Ascension  Island  and  made  his 
way  to  London.  He  must  have  displayed  his  femininely 
beautiful  smile  quite  as  effectively  here  as  at  Madrid,  for 
Pitt  and  the  Duke  of  Portland  took  him  up,  listened  to 
the  story  of  his  prowess  among  the  Indians,  and  his  undy- 
ing hate  for  Spain.  He  was  the  kind  they  needed  at  that 
date,  so  they  commissioned  him  a  brigadier,  supplied  him 
with  money,  and  started  him  back  to  America  to  help 
worry  their  enemies  on  sea  and  land. 

He  sailed  for  the  big  gulf,  and  preyed  on  the  commerce 
of  both  Spain  and  Georgia.  His  ship  had  just  been 
stranded  by  a  hurricane  when  Ellicott  came  along. 
Bowles  invited  him  to  the  wreck  and  got  assistance  from 
him,  in  return  for  which  he  gave  the  colonel  a  lot  of  charts 
and  maps  of  Florida  navigation.  The  two  were  good 

6 


82  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

fellows  together ;  but  Bowles  still  swore  vengeance  on  both 
America  and  Spain. 

From  here  Bowles  advanced  inland  at  the  head  of  a 
party  of  Indians,  captured  the  fort  at  St.  Marks,  plun- 
dered his  old  friend  Panton's  store,  and  subscribed  himself 
"  General  William  Augustus  Bowles,  director  of  the  affairs 
of  the  Creek  nation."  But  there  was  an  American  Colonel 
Hawkins  who  was  out  after  him  with  a  mixed  troop  of 
Americans  and  Spaniards,  and  who  offered  a  reward  for 
his  capture.  This  had  its  influence  on  Bowles's  friends, 
the  Indians.  They  got  up  a  great  feast  at  Tuskegee, 
"  where  the  old  French  Fort  Tolouse  stood,"  and  Bowles 
and  the  Miccasoochy  chiefs  attended.  When  the  orgy 
was  deep,  concealed  Indians  seized  and  pinioned  Bowles, 
took  him  down  the  river,  and  camped  with  a  guard  over 
him.  Even  yet  he  had  a  chance.  The  guards  fell  asleep, 
Bowles  gnawed  his  ropes  off,  got  into  the  canoe,  paddled 
noiselessly  across  to  a  canebrake,  and  escaped.  But  the 
Indians  followed  at  daybreak,  found  the  canoe,  and  cor- 
ralled him  in  the  swamp.  They  conveyed  him,  for  further 
reward,  to  Mobile.  He  was  now  nearing  the  end  of  his 
career.  From  Mobile  he  was  sent  to  Havana,  where  he 
was  immured  in  a  dungeon  of  historic  Morro  castle,  where 
he  was  kept  several  years,  until  he  died. 


CHAPTER  IV 


Wilkinson  and  Burr —  Great  Panic  and  LittU  Danger  —  Burr's  Arrest 
—  Wilkinsons  Baseness  —  The  Story  of  Madeline. 

N  1798,  the  organi- 
zation of  the  army 
of  the  United  States 
was  completed,  and 
the  next  year  Wil- 
kinson was  created  a 
major-general.  The 
threatened  rupture 
between  France  and 
this  country  had 
something  to  do 
with  effecting  his 
promotion.  It  is 
reported  that  Ham- 
ilton presented  the 
request  to  Washington,  the  general-in-chief,  at  the  same 
time  acknowledging  there  was  some  doubt  entertained  of 
the  candidate  ;  that  his  character  was  not  above  criticism 
on  more  than  one  count,  but  that  he  was  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  talent.  He  was  a  soldier  of  experience 


84  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

who  would  naturally  find  it  to  his  interest  to  deserve 
favors  of  the  government  "while  he  would  be  apt 
to  become  disgusted  if  neglected,  and  through  disgust 
may  be  rendered  really  what  he  is  now  only  suspected 
to  be." 

Washington  took  the  same  view  of  the  case,  and  the 
suspect  got  his  appointment  to  high  command.  It  was  in 
fact  a  bribe  for  his  future  loyalty  or  a  reward  for  his  past 
treason,  as  one  may  look  at  it.  A  few  short  years  before 
he  had  written  to  a  Spanish  governor :  "  In  order  to  aid 
the  favorable  disposition  of  Providence,  to  foment  the 
suspicions  and  feelings  of  distrust  already  existing  here 
[Kentucky],  and  influence  the  animosity  between  the 
Eastern  and  Western  States,  Spain  must  resort  to  every 
artifice  and  other  means  which  may  be  in  her  power.  .  .  . 
I  consider  it  as  profoundly  judicious ;  and  I  am  of  opinion 
that  it  ought  to  be  renewed  and  vigorously  carried  on 
until  its  object  be  attained,  cost  what  it  may."" 

But  his  ideas  had  changed  with  the  change  in  his  for- 
tunes and  with  the  turn  of  the  great  political  wheel  in 
which  he  was  a  spoke.  With  the  beginning  of  a  new  cen- 
tury Spain's  grasp  on  Louisiana  and  Florida  was  nerveless, 
and  it  was  known  that  the  former  was  to  be  re-ceded  to 
France.  Plotting  with  her  governors  was  now  useless. 
It  was  no  longer  possible  for  an  independent  nation  to  be 
formed  through  any  such  conspiracy ;  and  yet  he  believed 
that  the  trend  of  events  was  favorable  to  a  great  and 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  85 

independent  power  in  the  Southwest.  His  vision  of  empire 
had  in  reality  expanded. 

Digression  has  been  made  to  relate  the  facts  of  other 
seditious  enterprises  that  were  attempted  during  the  years 
that  Wilkinson  pursued  his  secret  negotiations  with  the 
Spaniards,  and  although  others  still  were  set  on  foot 
before  the  finish  of  his  career  in  this  region,  it  will  appear 
a  more  continuous  narrative  to  round  out  the  recital  of 
his  infamy  and  have  done  with  it. 

The  agitation  and  discontent  throughout  the  South- 
western Territories  and  States  of  the  Union  late  in  the 
eighteenth  century  created  in  many  ambitious  men  a 
passion  for  conquest  —  for  the  forcible  appropriation  of 
territory  that  did  not  belong  to  them,  —  which  did  not 
subside  when  the  causes  of  disloyal  mutterings  had  been 
removed.  A  large  proportion  of  the  population  was  of 
the  restless,  migratory  spirit.  If  no  real  cause  for 
dissatisfaction  with  their  present  situation  existed,  they 
imagined  one.  They  did  not  like  to  feel  the  authority 
of  any  kind  of  government.  The  excise,  or  internal  reve- 
nue tax  on  whiskey,  was  particularly  obnoxious  to  them. 
Government  was  all  right  in  some  sort  of  self-sustaining 
way  to  fight  off  other  nations  and  chastise  the  Indians, 
but  beyond  those  functions  it  was  not  only  superfluous, 
it  was  an  exasperating  nuisance. 

So  there  was  a  longing  for  other  lands.  They  wanted 
to  try  another  experiment  at  nation-making.  They 


86  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

looked  beyond  the  great  river  to  Louisiana,  beyond 
Louisiana  to  Texas,  beyond  Texas  to  Mexico.  The 
turmoil  in  Mexico  gave  them  the  feeling  that  Spanish 
control  of  that  country  would  not  last  long,  and  that 
it  would  not  require  the  aid  of  a  very  strong  military 
force  to  make  the  Mexicans  independent,  nor  a  much 
stronger  force  to  subjugate  that  country  afterwards. 
The  Spaniards  they  hated;  for  the  Mexicans  they  had 
contempt. 

Prior  to  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  going  back  sev- 
eral years,  the  newspapers  throughout  the  United  States 
frequently  published  articles  discussing  the  possible  con- 
quest of  Mexico.  Those  published  west  of  the  moun- 
tain ranges  treated  the  subject  the  most  seriously. 
During  the  exasperation  arising  from  the  Florida  bound- 
ary survey,  a  movement  against  Mexico  was  openly 
advocated,  just  as,  some  years  later,  when  there  was 
contention  over  the  Louisiana-Texas  boundary,  the 
excitement  led  to  marauding  expeditions. 

In  1799,  Louis  de  Penalvert  y  Cardenas,  Bishop  of 
Louisiana,  in  a  report  said :  "  The  emigration  from  the 
Western  part  of  the  United  States  and  the  toleration 
of  our  Government  have  introduced  into  this  colony 
a  gang  of  adventurers  who  have  no  religion  and  ac- 
knowledge no  God ;  and  they  have  made  much  worse 
the  morals  of  our  people.  .  .  .  They  employ  Indians 
on  their  farms,  and  have  frequent  intercourse  and 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  87 

conversation  with  them,  and  impress  their  minds  with 
pernicious  maxims  in  harmony  with  their  own  restless 
and  ambitious  tempers ;  this  with  the  customs  of  their 
own  Western  countrymen,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  saying 
to  such  of  their  boys  as  are  distinguished  for  a  robust 
frame,  whilst  patting  them  on  the  shoulder,  'you 
will  be  the  man  to  go  to  Mexico.1 " 

The  force  of  this  indictment  depends,  of  course,  upon 
what  the  Bishop  would  construe  as  acknowledging  God ; 
and  he  may  have  had  the  narrowest  orthodox  notions 
of  his  church  as  to  that.  Nevertheless,  there  is  abun- 
dance of  evidence  from  sources  that  cannot  be  sus- 
pected of  any  prejudice,  that  his  characterization  was 
in  the  main  true  to  the  life.  Making  all  reasonable 
allowance  for  the  morals  and  manners  of  a  border 
people,  owing  to  their  isolation,  their  privations,  and 
the  harsh  influences  surrounding  them,  it  must  be 
recognized  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  pioneers  — 
the  real  movers  and  way-blazers  —  of  the  early  South- 
west was  of  a  pretty  low  and  desperate  kind  of  human- 
ity. The  unquestioned  tales  of  their  slovenliness,  their 
indifference  to  degraded  environment,  their  low  plane 
of  morals,  their  cruelty,  and  their  besotted  bigotry 
stamp  them  as  undoubtedly  the  least  creditable  of  any 
frontier  people  in  any  period  of  our  country's  develop- 
ment. Testimony  to  this  is  given,  for  instance,  by  the 
itinerant  revivalist  preacher,  Lorenzo  Dow,  who  u  toured w 


88  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

as  far  as  the  Mississippi  in  1803,  and  into  Louisiana 
the  following  two  or  three  years.  He  had  encountered 
some  pretty  low  strata  of  society  in  various  places, 
both  here  and  abroad,  for  those  were  the  layers  he 
sought  to  leaven  with  the  bacteria  of  righteousness ; 
but  when  he  got  down  among  the  Mississippi  settle- 
ments, Lorenzo  cried  to  the  good  Lord  for  extra  sup- 
port. He  declared  there  were  not  three  Christians  in 
Natchez,  meaning  the  whole  district.  Up  to  1803 
no  Protestant  preacher  had  been  heard  in  that  region. 
Governor  Claiborne,  the  first  American  Governor  of 
Louisiana,  complained,  in  1805,  of  the  tough  character 
of  the  immigration  into  that  State  from  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  —  degenerate  characters  who  thrived  on  law- 
lessness, or  at  least  were  always  ready  to  encourage  it. 
Even  the  most  intelligent  of  them  caused  him  a  great 
deal  of  trouble.  They  played  a  disgraceful  part  by 
encouraging  distrust  of  and  prejudice  against  the 
American  authority.  The  "ancient  inhabitants'"  of 
Louisiana,  as  the  old-time  Spanish  subjects  were  called 
—  mostly  French  and  Spaniards  —  had  long  heard 
preached  the  doctrine  that  a  republican  form  of  gov- 
ernment could  not  long  exist  over  an  extensive  terri- 
tory, and  that  the  United  States  must  limit  their 
possessions  to  the  Mississippi.  They  were  a  much  more 
amiable  and  peace-loving  people  than  the  turbulent 
Americans,  but  the  newly  imposed  American  laws  and 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  89 

American  officialism  were  to  them  complicated  and 
irksome,  and  they  hoped  for  an  early  reversion  to  the 
old  rule.  And  there  were  American  citizens  so  con- 
temptible as  to  encourage  them  in  order  to  gain  their 
own  petty  political  or  financial  advantage. 

Wilkinson  knew  all  the  conditions,  political  and  other- 
wise, throughout  the  region ;  he  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  quality  and  temperament  of  the  people.  As  the 
head  of  the  army  of  the  Southern  District  he  could  have 
done  much  toward  conciliating  them,  encouraging  patience 
with  and  respect  for  the  government,  and  discouraging 
indifference  to  the  laws.  But  his  influence  was  never  in 
the  right  direction ;  his  aims  were  in  conflict  with  the 
authority  he  exercised,  and  his  contemplated  methods  of 
realizing  them  depended  upon  lawless  daring.  Besides, 
his  example  of  habits  was  in  keeping  with  his  greater 
offences.  In  addition  to  his  constant  gambling,  he  drank 
to  excess. 

Lausat,  the  agent  sent  by  France  to  attend  to  the 
formal  delivery  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States  after 
the  purchase,  was  a  man  of  shrewd  observation.  The  new 
responsibility  the  Americans  had  undertaken,  and  the 
instruments  they  were  employing  to  handle  them  with, 
interested  him.  In  a  despatch  to  one  of  the  French 
ministers  he  expressed  his  opinions  of  Claiborne  and  Wil- 
kinson :  "  The  second  has  been  long  known  here  in  the 
most  unfavorable  manner.  He  is  a  rattle-headed  fellow, 


90  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

full  of  odd  fantasies.  He  is  frequently  drunk,  and  has 
committed  a  hundred  inconsistent  and  impertinent  acts." 
And  Lausat  knew  nothing  of  his  crimes. 

From  now  on,  to  the  time  of  his  removal  from  this 
theatte  of  his  "  impertinent  acts,"  Wilkinson's  plottings 
must  be  considered  in  connection  with  those  of  Aaron 
Burr.  It  is  not  proposed  herein  to  give  many  details  of 
the  oft-recited  story  of  Burr's  designs  on  the  Southwest, 
and  the  almost  farcical  movement  he  inaugurated  to  carry 
them  out.  The  case  has  been  one  of  such  historical  prom- 
inence and  such  constant  allusion  that  it  has  completely 
overshadowed  all  other  undertakings  of  similar  aim,  and 
crowded  them  into  remote  corners  of  unfamiliar  history. 
Yet  the  Burr  enterprise  cannot  be  ignored. 

It  is  pretty  reliable  history  that,  before  Burr  retired 
from  the  office  of  Vice-President,  he  had  a  confidential  con- 
ference with  Mr.  Merry,  the  British  minister  then  at  our 
capital,  in  which  he  offered  his  services  to  Great  Britain 
"  in  any  manner  in  which  they  may  see  fit  to  employ  him," 
as  Mr.  Merry  wrote  his  Minister  of  State.  Although 
England  did  not  then  consider  us  quite  a  full-fledged 
nation,  she  did  not  appear  to  hold  it  compatible  with  her 
dignity  to  allow  her  representative  to  plot  with  Mr.  Burr ; 
and  so  the  latter  got  no  employment  of  her  "in  any 
manner." 

But  while  the  subject  was  still  remembered,  Burr's  ac- 
complice, Williamson,  in  London  got  an  audience  with 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  91 

Pitt  and  Melville,  and  represented  to  them  how  they  could 
deal  the  young  republic  a  staggering  blow  by  financing 
SUIT'S  proposed  expedition,  which,  among  other  grand 
things,  was  intended  to  detach  the  Southwestern  States 
from  the  Union.  Burr  modestly  requested  of  them  the 
loan  of  only  half  a  million  dollars,  three  ships  of  the  line, 
and  a  few  frigates ;  the  money  to  be  paid  over  in  trust  to 
John  Barclay  of  Philadelphia  and  Daniel  Clark  of  New 
Orleans. 

Now,  that  immediately  connects  Burr's  plans  with  Wil- 
kinson, for  Daniel  Clark  had  been  Wilkinson's  agent  and 
spy  at  New  Orleans  from  the  days  of  his  first  negotiations 
with  Miro.  Daniel  Clark,  in  1799,  had  inherited  a  large 
fortune  from  an  uncle  who  had  been  a  successful  merchant 
and  land  dealer  at  the  Southern  metropolis.  And,  we  may 
note,  he  is  that  Daniel  Clark  who  was  the  father  of  Myra 
Clark  Gaines,  whose  historic  lawsuit  for  the  possession  of 
the  vast  estate  he  left  forms  perhaps  the  most  romance-like 
chapter  of  American  litigation. 

The  British  statesmen  declined  to  "grubstake"  Burr, 
so  to  speak,  and  the  latter,  disappointed  and  always  in 
need  of  money,  concocted  a  most  disgraceful  scheme  of 
having  his  own  secret  communications  with  the  English- 
men "tipped  off"  to  the  Spanish  minister,  with  an  offer 
to  sell  him  full  information  of  the  alleged  "  plottings  of 
Great  Britain  with  a  high  official  of  the  United  States 
government  against  the  Spanish  possessions."  Into  this 


92  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

despicable  game  of  squeeze  he  inveigled  ex-United  States 
Senator  Jonathan  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey,  a  man  of  an- 
cestry and  high  respectability,  who  approached  Minister 
Yruzo  with  the  proposition,  and  actually  got  a  few  thou- 
sand dollars  from  him  on  the  most  pitiful  confidence  game 
that  men  of  prominence  ever  stooped  to. 

It  would  seem  that  very  soon  after  these  first  (and 
futile)  efforts,  Burr  took  Wilkinson  into  his  schemes. 
Or  it  may  be  that  Wilkinson  took  Burr  in.  At  any  rate, 
they  coupled  their  intriguing  issues.  One  thing  is  certain 
—  Wilkinson  had  for  a  long  time  had  a  definite  plan; 
Burr  for  a  long  time  had  not.  As  a  real  fact,  it  is  al- 
together doubtful,  and  the  ablest  commentators  on  his  case 
so  express  themselves,  whether  Burr  ever  had  a  well-defined, 
positive  plan.  He  talked  all  kinds  of  things  at  different 
times  and  places  ;  to  each  one  he  hoped  to  win,  in  a  strain 
he  thought  most  likely  to  catch  the  fancy  of  the  listener. 
He  was  disgruntled  and  out  of  harmony  with  society, 
an  adventurer  determined  to  make  some  kind  of  brilliant 
stroke. 

In  the  collusion  of  the  two  arch-plotters  Wilkinson  was 
to  be  second  to  Burr  in  the  empire  they  were  to  establish. 
But  first,  Burr  was  going  to  colonize  the  grant  of  land 
which  Baron  Bastrop  claimed  to  have  received  from  Spain, 
situated  in  Louisiana.  That  was  to  be  the  nucleus.  In 
the  meantime  the  general  was  to  dispose  the  military 
forces  under  his  command  so  that  they  could  be  counted 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  93 

on  as  a  powerful  aid,  or  else  be  incapable  of  being  used 
against  them.  But  it  was  not  a  partnership  to  hold  well. 
It  was  not  in  Wilkinson  to  play  second  villain  to  any- 
body, —  he  was  too  accomplished  a  performer  in  that  role 
himself.  And  besides,  it  was  the  man's  chief  trait  to  play 
false  to  everybody.  The  Southwest,  broad  as  it  was,  was 
yet  too  narrow  a  field  for  two  such  past-masters  in  con- 
spiracy. Jealousy  seized  on  Wilkinson,  and  soon  the 
entente  began  to  cool. 

Says  one  author  (Powell) :  "  During  this  episode  the 
one  most  infinitesimally  contemptible  character  did  not 
prove  to  be  Burr,  but  Wilkinson.  The  senior  major- 
general  of  the  United  States,  he  had  been  a  pensioner 
of  Spain  for  twenty  years,  acting  as  spy  and  traitor. 
That  he  should  also  have  been  an  accomplice  of  Burr's 
was  a  bagatelle.  It  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  he  had 
acted  for  Spain  all  along,  drawing  Burr  on  to  break  up 
the  Union ;  but  when  Burr's  schemes  reached  out  to 
attack  Mexico,  his  Spanish  masters  were  convinced  the 
States  would  be  less  dangerous  to  them  than  Burr  would 
be.  Then  their  contemptible  tool  denounced  his  ally  to 
our  government,  making  good  his  own  safety  by  playing 
the  natural  part  of  informer  and  witness.  .  .  .  The  scoun- 
drel posed  as  the  saviour  of  the  Union,  held  on  to  his 
$2000  a  year  from  the  Spanish  King,  secured  immunity 
from  his  own  double  treason,  and  stood  on  the  witness 
block  to  try  to  get  Burr  hanged." 


94  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

But  Wilkinson's  defection  did  not  deter  Burr,  who  by 
that  time  had  coddled  up  to  Blennerhasset  and  was 
building  flat  boats  on  the  Ohio.  How  they  created  a 
flotilla,  collected  arms,  provisions,  farm  implements,  and 
enrolled  a  company  of  men  and  boys;  how  they  started, 
were  stopped  on  the  way  when  Blennerhasset  got  fright- 
ened and  backed  out ;  how  Burr  continued  on  till  he  was 
arrested  down  on  the  Mississippi,  —  all  are  familiar  facts. 

The  mystery  surrounding  Burr's  movements,  and  the 
dislike  that  he  had  incurred,  gave  the  expedition  an 
importance  that  it  did  not  deserve.  In  the  same  way 
they  greatly  exaggerated  the  danger  from  Burr's  treason. 
John  Adams  always  belittled  it;  and  it  is  true  beyond 
question  that  the  menace  to  the  Union  was  many  times 
greater  at  the  time  of  the  Genet  excitement,  or  even 
from  the  plottings  of  Wilkinson  while  the  Western  people 
were  aflame  with  anger  because  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  was  denied  them,  than  it  was  from  this  puny 
movement. 

Calmly  considered,  it  is  laughable,  the  panic  which 
Burr's  approach  caused  in  Mississippi.  Cowles  Mead,  the 
acting  Governor,  a  talkative  and  excitable  man,  was  so 
alarmed  that  he  ordered  the  entire  State  militia,  five 
regiments,  under  arms.  He  was  even  more  frightened 
than  Wilkinson  professed  to  be  over  in  Louisiana.  He 
sent  despatches  proclaiming  "  the  fate  of  the  country  may 
depend  on  my  movements  now." 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  95 

With  the  same  show  of  alarm,  Wilkinson,  who  was 
in  Western  Louisiana  where  the  Mexicans  under  Herrera 
were  threatening  trouble  over  the  Texas  boundary  dis- 
pute, talked  of  Burr's  mightiness.  It  had  looked  very 
much  as  if  there  would  be  a  battle.  Hen-era  was 
with  his  troops  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Sabine,  and 
Wilkinson  on  the  east  bank.  While  in  this  position 
Wilkinson  received  a  letter  from  Burr  stating  that  the 
latter  had  started  his  expedition,  and  suggesting  that 
Wilkinson  had  better  reconsider  and  join  him.  He 
said  he  intended  seizing  Baton  Rouge  as  a  prelimi- 
nary measure.  Wilkinson  took  two  weeks  to  consider 
the  matter.  Then  he  sent  the  letter  to  Washington 
and  denounced  Burr.  Having  taken  ample  time  to 
think  it  over  he  now  concluded  that  a  great  danger 
was  impending.  The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  make 
overtures  to  Herrera,  who  was  awaiting  an  attack,  for 
an  armistice.  He  suggested  that,  as  the  Mexicans 
claimed  the  Sabine  as  the  boundary  and  the  Americans 
the  Nueces,  the  country  between  the  two  should 
be  declared  neutral  ground,  not  to  be  occupied  by 
either  Mexicans  or  Americans,  until  the  whole  question 
should  be  settled  by  treaty.  Herrera  agreed,  and  both 
armies  drew  off. 

Now  Wilkinson  was  free  to  protect  his  beloved 
country  against  the  treasonable  attack  of  his  late 
friend  Burr.  He  sent  word  to  Commodore  Shaw  and 


96  THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

had  him  concentrate  eight  war  vessels,  fifty  guns,  at 
New  Orleans  to  meet  Aaron's  terrible  "flotilla."  He 
began  to  mobilize  his  troops  near  that  city,  and  pre- 
tended to  discover  a  seething  hotbed  of  treason  there. 
He  sent  a  request  to  Governor  Claiborne  to  declare 
martial  law,  and  advised  the  Governor  to  authorize 
him,  Wilkinson,  "to  repress  the  seditious  and  arrest 
the  disaffected;  to  call  the  resources  of  the  city  into 
active  operation.  The  defects  of  my  force  may  expose 
me  to  be  overwhelmed  by  numbers  .  .  .  because  you 
could  not  for  a  moment  withstand  the  desperation  and 
numbers  opposed  to  you;  and  the  brigands,  provoked 
by  the  opposition,  might  resort  to  the  dreadful  expe- 
dient of  exciting  a  revolt  of  the  negroes.  If  we  divide 
our  forces,  we  shall  be  beaten  in  detail ! " 

Later  he  wrote  Claiborne  that  he  had  received  intel- 
ligence which  led  him  to  believe  that  Burr  would 
reach  Natchez  about  Dec.  20  (1806)  with  two  thou- 
sand men,  and  added  that  he  feared  he,  Wilkinson, 
had  been  betrayed  "by  Burr  and  his  rebellious  bands." 
According  to  the  doughty  commander,  it  was  a  situ- 
ation that  called  for  the  military  genius  of  a  Caesar 
and  the  swift  strokes  of  a  Napoleon  to  save  the  nation. 

Governor  Claiborne  did  not  quite  lose  his  head.  He 
refused  to  proclaim  martial  law ;  but  the  merchants  of 
New  Orleans  were  affected  with  the  silly  alarm  and 
began  subscriptions  for  supplying  clothes  and  arms  to 


GOVERNOR  WILLIAM  C.  C.  CLAIBORNE 
Of  Louisiana 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  97 

the  volunteers.  These  volunteers  were  first  enlisted 
for  the  emergency,  but  Wilkinson  entered  objection 
to  this,  and  demanded  that  they  be  enlisted  for  six 
months.  He  also  made  a  vigorous  demand  for  an 
embargo  for  six  months  on  river  traffic,  up  the  river 
or  to  the  gulf.  But  the  men  would  not  enlist  for  six 
months,  and  the  business  men  and  the  Governor  objected 
to  the  embargo.  The  general  then  wanted  Claiborne 
to  order  an  impressment,  and  conducted  himself  like  a 
scared  fool  or  a  knave,  inditing  florid  and  bombastic 
letters  about  having  put  his  life  and  character  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  flagitious  enterprises  of  Burr. 

What  he  wanted  six  months'  enlistments  for,  or  a 
tight  embargo  on  river  commerce,  it  is  impossible  to 
explain  on  any  other  theory  than  that  he  had  designs 
of  putting  his  own  ulterior  schemes  into  operation,  and 
perhaps  crush  Burr  at  the  same  stroke.  That  would 
appear  like  a  mad  attempt,  but  his  whole  conduct  was 
equally  as  crazy. 

To  add  to  the  gaiety  of  the  farce,  Mead,  the  before- 
mentioned  Mississippian  who  was  trying  to  give  an 
imitation  of  a  governor,  and  doing  it  most  ridicu- 
lously, sent  out  a  screech  like  a  startled  jackdaw  for 
help  in  his  hour  of  terror.  4fi  We  want  arms  and  ammu- 
nition !  We  have  men,  but  they  are  badly  provided. 
I  can  only  stand  and  make  the  fight  of  Leonidas ! 
Burr  may  come,  and  he  is  no  doubt  desperate,  but 


98  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

treason  is  seldom  associated  with  generous  courage  or 
real  bravery.  ...  If  I  stop  Burr,  this  may  hold  the  gen- 
eral (Wilkinson)  in  allegiance  to  the  United  States. 
But  if  Burr  passes  this  territory  with  two  thousand 
men,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  general  will  be  your 
worst  enemy.  Be  on  your  guard  against  the  wily 
general!  He  is  not  much  better  than  Catiline.  Con- 
sider him  a  traitor,  and  act  as  if  certain  thereof! 
You  may  save  yourself  by  it ! " 

Grotesque  as  this  appeal  is,  it  gives  a  clear  understand- 
ing of  what  estimate  Wilkinson  was  held  in  by  the  official, 
—  an  estimate  that  doubtless  was  shared  by  many  other 
men  in  the  Mississippi  region. 

Wilkinson,  being  unable  to  force  Claiborne,  began  to 
act  independently  of  him.  The  next  thing  he  did  was 
the  climax  of  his  absurdity.  There  was  a  British  squadron 
of  a  few  vessels  resting  idly  under  the  pleasant  winter  sun 
at  Jamaica.  Admiral  Drake  was  in  command.  To  him 
Wilkinson  despatched  a  military  messenger,  Lieutenant 
Swan,  with  a  screed  informing  the  admiral  of  Burr's 
mighty  plans,  and  of  the  (alleged)  circulation  of  a  report 
that  the  cooperation  of  a  British  naval  armament  had 
been  either  promised  or  applied  for,  and  warning  him  and 
all  officers  in  the  British  navy  that  their  interference,  or 
any  cooperation  on  their  part,  would  be  considered  as 
highly  injurious  to  the  United  States,  and  as  affecting  the 
present  amicable  relations  between  the  two  nations.  He 


THE  GLORY  SEEKERS  99 

hoped  the  British  Governor  at  Jamaica  would  not  only 
refrain  from  such  cooperation,  but  would  prevent  any 
and  all  individuals  from  affording  aid  to  the  conspirators, 
—  and  so  on. 

The  admiral  paused  from  a  rum  julep  to  read,  and  then 
took  another,  and  read  again.  Still  it  did  not  appear  at 
all  clear  to  him. 

"  What  in  Neptune  is  it  all  about  ?"  he  wanted  to 
know.  He  called  the  captains  and  lieutenants,  and  the 
private  secretary  took  a  brace  in  his  mental  jib  and  tried 
to  interpret  the  riddle.  Then  the  admiral  replied  that 
from  the  style  and  manner  in  which  the  communication 
had  been  made  he  hardly  knew  how  to  answer  it.  But  he 
assured  General  Wilkinson  that  British  ships  of  war  would 
not  be  employed  in  any  improper  service. 

Up  to  this  point  Wilkinson's  furioso  buffoonery  did 
not  hurt  much,  but  now  he  took  to  arbitrarily  arresting 
citizens  whom  he  pretended  to  suspect  of  complicity 
in  Burr's  plans,  and  to  resisting  habeas  corpus  writs. 
He  established  practically  a  dictatorship.  One  superior 
judge  resigned.  Claiborne,  while  not  approving  Wil- 
kinson's usurpation  of  power,  admitted  that  there  were  a 
good  many  of  the  inhabitants,  both  among  the  "  ancient " 
Louisianians  and  the  recent  American  comers,  who  he 
believed  would  cordially  have  supported  Burr, — just  as 
Wilkinson  was  convinced,  no  doubt,  that  they  would  sup- 
port him  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  effect  a  coup. 


100  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

Among  those  whom  Wilkinson  arrested  was  the  Ameri- 
can veteran  General  Adair,  and  also  Doctor  Eric  Bollman, 
who  had  achieved  almost  worldwide  notoriety  through  his 
daring  attempt  to  liberate  Lafayette  from  the  Austrian 
prison  of  Olmiitz. 

Yet  on  came  Burr  with  the  heralded  mighty  sweep  of 
his  flotilla  legion,  and  mightier  was  the  commotion  of  mil- 
itary preparation  to  save  the  nation,  —  five  regiments  in 
Mississippi,  eight  ships  of  war  in  front  of  New  Orleans,  a 
thousand  volunteer  troops  under  arms,  and  several  hun- 
dred regulars  which  Wilkinson  had  hurried  forward  from 
different  posts.  And  now  one  morning  the  militia  officers 
on  the  lookout  at  Natchez  saw  something  suspicious- 
looking  lying  along  the  shore,  and,  taking  a  squad  of 
troopers,  they  went  over  and  put  it  under  arrest.  It  was 
Burr's  flotilla  of  destruction  —  nine  small  flatboats  and 
less  than  a  hundred  men ;  some  reports  say  only  sixty. 
And  that  was  all  there  was  of  it.  The  terrorists  were 
mostly  young  fellows,  mere  boys,  —  armed,  it  is  true,  but 
nobody  went  anywhere  without  arms  in  that  region  and 
those  days.  Many  of  the  crew  did  not  even  know  where 
they  were  bound  or  what  their  object  was. 

When  Burr  was  placed  under  arrest  for  his  armed  inva- 
sion, he  asked  if  his  outfit  looked  warlike  or  fit  for  con- 
quest ;  and  no  one  could  say  that  it  did.  But  of  course 
they  made  no  allowance  for  that.  And  "  General  *"  Mead 
never  got  through  telling  of  his  valiant  capture  of  Burr. 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  101 

He  suffered  from  chronic  vanity,  and  as  he  grew  old  it  is 
said  he  really  persuaded  himself  that  he  "  saved  the 
nation."  Wilkinson,  after  all  his  terrible  bluster,  had 
no  hand  in  it,  and  the  whole  proceeding  feft  ;him  a  gocd 
deal  in  the  light  of  a  picturesque  buffoon.  He,  had -so,  me 
trouble  squaring  himself  for  his  outragedus-  -exercise  6t 
authority,  and  the  trial  of  Burr,  against  whom  he  was 
one  of  the  principal  witnesses,  did  not  tend  to  allay  the 
ill  report  of  him  that  had  been  spreading  throughout  the 
country. 

That  he  had  connived  with  Burr  up  to  almost  the  last 
hour  is  fully  proved.  He  wrote  to  Daniel  Clark,  his 
former  agent,  who  had  now  become  a  territorial  member 
of  Congress,  that  "  that  great  and  honest  man  [Burr]  will 
communicate  to  you  many  things  improper  to  letter,  which 
he  would  not  say  to  another."  It  was  illustrated  in  the 
trial  of  Burr,  the  details  of  which  are  common  history,  as 
well  as  in  the  trial  of  Wilkinson  which  followed  two  years 
later,  that  the  charges  may  be  proved  against  the  accused 
without  securing  a  conviction.  Burr  was  guilty.  He  had 
openly  talked  treason  for  years.  It  does  not  matter  that  he 
set  about  it  with  pitifully  inadequate  facilities  for  putting 
his  mixed  and  ill-defined  designs  into  execution,  nor  that 
he  did  not  for  a  moment  put  the  government  in  jeopardy. 
At  an  earlier  date,  when  the  people  of  the  region  were  in 
a  seditious  mood,  he  no  doubt  would  have  been  received 
by  thousands  with  acclaim,  and  he  might  at  that  period 


102  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

have  made  a  change  in  the  map.  That  he  was  acquitted 
was  just  as  well.  To  have  hanged  him  would  have  been 
to  punish  one  man  for  treason  when  it  was  well  known 
,tfeat  a '.thousand  .had  been  guilty  of  the  same  crime  with- 
.out,  any  attempt  at  punishing  them.  And  besides,  the 
treasonable  .sentiment  was  becoming  outgrown. 

It  is  hard  to  express  as  charitable  a  thought  for  Wil- 
kinson, who  did  his  best  to  secure  the  hanging  of  his 
friend  and  accomplice.  But  that  was  only  meanness.  A 
swift  review  of  the  crimes  and  transgressions  of  the  man, 
the  revelry  of  treason  that  he  kept  up  for  years,  and  the 
despicable  trickery  which  he  practised,  damns  him  as 
utterly  vile. 

He  was  not  an  unworthy  accomplice  of  Aaron  Burr. 
They  had  many  qualities  in  common.  Both  were  of 
agreeable  presence,  of  good  voice,  and  easy  command  of 
words.  Both  could  talk  convincingly,  and  one  was  about 
as  adept  at  mystifying  or  misleading  as  the  other.  But 
Wilkinson,  much  more  than  his  more  distinguished  rival 
in  guile,  was  given  to  protesting  his  own  virtues,  especially 
his  patriotism  and  love  of  honor. 

"  Yet  he  probably  was  as  utterly  destitute  of  all  real 
honor,"  says  T.  M.  Green,  "  as  venal,  as  dishonest,  as  faith- 
less as  any  man  that  ever  lived.  His  selfishness  was 
supreme  and  his  self-indulgence  boundless,  while  his  knowl- 
edge of  all  that  is  mean  and  corrupt  in  mankind  seemed 
intuitive.  With  an  ambition  that  was  at  once  vaulting 


I 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  103 

and  ever  restless,  and  a  vanity  that  was  immeasurable,  to 
gratify  the  one  and  to  offer  incense  to  the  other  he  did 
not  scruple  to  pander  to  the  vices  of  his  fellows,  to  excite 
their  cupidity,  and  to  tempt  them  to  treason."" 

A  pretty  brutal  indictment,  it  may  be  said  ;  but  it  is  by 
a  writer  who  studied  deeply  and  critically  the  circum- 
stances of  his  career,  as  well  as  the  inner  history  of  the 
intrigues  and  treasonable  movements  of  the  Southwest 
during  the  early  period. 

When  Wilkinson  came  to  Kentucky  there  was,  among 
other  agitations,  that  to  separate  the  district  from  Vir- 
ginia. He  wrote  a  disrespectful  address,  of  the  spirit  to 
make  trouble,  and  it  was  sent  to  the  Virginia  assembly. 
When  the  assembly  very  properly  voted  to  make  the  sep- 
aration depend  on  the  assent  of  Congress  and  the  admis- 
sion of  Kentucky  into  the  Union,  he  vehemently  urged  an 
immediate  assumption  of  independence,  contrary  to  law 
and  dignity,  and  openly  expressed  his  contempt  for  the 
assembly  and  Congress. 

He  engaged  in  a  traitorous  negotiation  with  the  British, 
contemplating  an  attack  on  Louisiana ;  then  he  went  to 
the  Spanish  Governor  of  that  province  and  used  his  com- 
munication with  the  British  as  an  aid  in  inducing  the  Gov- 
ernor to  join  him  in  a  conspiracy  for  a  dismemberment  of 
the  Union.  He  accepted  a  commission  and  high  promo- 
tion in  the  army  of  his  country  while  receiving  pay  from 
a  foreign  power  for  plotting  to  disrupt  the  Union.  He 


104  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

most  betrayed  the  men  who  most  befriended  him.  Nor 
was  he  true  even  to  his  Spanish  partners  in  infamy. 
While  drawing  a  pension  from  the  Spanish  King  he 
entered  into  the  conspiracy  with  Burr  to  seize  his  Majesty's 
American  provinces.  Not  only  that,  but  while  the  expe- 
dition was  organizing  he  despatched  a  special  agent,  and 
an  officer  in  the  American  army  at  that,  Captain  Burling, 
to  Mexico  to  solicit  of  the  viceroy  "reimbursement"  of 
the  "  great  pecuniary  "  losses  he  had  incurred  in  prevent- 
ing an  invasion  of  that  country  "  by  the  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States1'  (Burr).  He  wrote  the  viceroy 
a  bombastic  description  of  the  desolating  legions  that 
menaced  his  land,  and  would  have  conquered  it,  but  for 
his  own  saving  valor.  "  I,  like  Leonidas,  boldly  threw 
myself  in  the  pass,"  he  declared. 

Lieutenant  Zebulon  Pike,  the  celebrated  American 
explorer,  was  in  Mexico  at  the  time  Burling  made  his 
journey,  and  noted  that  he  was  on  a  strange  mission, 
which  he  declined  to  explain  to  Pike.  But  the  Mexican 
viceroy  refused  to  pay  tribute  at  that  time,  and  Burling 
was  ordered  out  of  the  country.  That  trip  could  not  be 
kept  a  secret,  and  therefore  it  required  an  explanation. 
The  explanation  Wilkinson  gives  in  his  memoirs,  is  that 
he  sent  the  officer  "  on  grounds  of  public  duty  and 
professional  enterprise  to  attempt  to  penetrate  the  veil 
which  concealed  the  topographical  route  to  the  City 
of  Mexico,  and  the  military  defences  which  intervened, 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  105 

feeling  that  the  equivocal  relations  of  the  two  countries 
justified  the  ruse." 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  two  countries  were  entirely 
at  peace,  and  Wilkinson  had  no  orders  that  warranted  him 
in  attempting  to  "  penetrate  the  veil  which  concealed  the 
topographical  route "  to  Mexico.  Yet  there  is  reason . 
to  believe  that  subsequently  he  did  succeed  in  obtaining 
money  from  the  Spanish  government  on  some  such  repre- 
sentation as  that  he  made  to  the  Mexican  viceroy ;  for 
he  ended  his  days  in  Mexico  on  an  estate  which  it  is 
historically  alleged  he  bought  with  the  profits  of  his 
treason. 

And  so,  for  twenty  years  he  wallowed  in  corruption. 
John  Randolph  said  after  the  Burr  trial,  —  "  Wilkinson 
was  the  only  man  I  ever  saw  who  was  from  the  back 
to  the  very  core  a  villain.  Perhaps  you  never  saw  human 
nature  in  so  degraded  a  situation  as  in  the  presence  of 
Wilkinson  before  the  grand  jury." 

But  at  last  his  offences  became  so  rank  that  he  was 
ordered  to  trial.  The  principal  charges  in  the  indictment 
were,  receiving  bribes  from  Spain,  and  complicity  in  Span- 
ish plottings  against  the  Union. 

The  most  effective  witnesses  against  him  were  Daniel 
Clark,  his  former  correspondent,  now  one  of  the  leading 
men  of  New  Orleans  ;  and  Thomas  Power,  who  had  been 
sent  on  special  missions  to  him  by  Governor  Carondelet. 
The  trial  was  by  court-martial,  and  it  is  declared  that 


106  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

the  court  was  organized  to  acquit  him.  That  is  not 
probable.  Yet  it  appeared  on  the  face  of  the  evidence 
that  conviction  must  follow.  Clark  had  previously  made 
a  sworn  statement  to  Congress  that  the  privileges  and 
emoluments  granted  to  Wilkinson  by  the  former  Spanish 
Governors  were  in  consideration  of  his  undertaking  to 
separate  Kentucky  from  the  Union  and  bring  her  under 
the  sovereignty  and  protection  of  Spain.  That  Wilkinson 
became  a  pensioner  of  Spain,  and  continued  to  receive 
a  pension  from  her  long  after  he  had  reentered  the 
United  States  army,  specifying  as  to  times  and  places 
he  had  received  various  sums,  and  giving  amounts.  He 
listed  sums  paid  Wilkinson  of  which  he  (Clark)  had 
personal  knowledge,  aggregating  about  $30,000. 

Clark  gave  this  testimony  before  the  court,  and  Power 
swore  to  payments  made  to  Wilkinson.  But  this  was 
in  1808,  years  after  the  transactions,  and  neither  witness 
could  substantiate  his  assertions  by  documentary  proofs. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  Clark  had  written  a  memorial 
to  the  Secretary  of  State  back  in  1787,  at  Wilkinson's 
request,  but  not  ostensibly  so.  The  defence  —  and  Wil- 
kinson conducted  his  own  defence  —  now  produced  that 
paper,  and  impeached  Clark's  testimony  by  showing  that 
either  he  must  have  falsified  in  that  statement  or  else 
he  was  not  telling  the  truth  now.  And  it  is  seldom  men 
are  hanged  by  such  witnesses. 

Wilkinson   impeached  Power's   testimony  in  a  similar 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  107 

way  —  by  showing  a  discrepancy  between  his  present  and 
a  previous  statement  he  had  cajoled  from  the  man,  in 
anticipation  of  just  this  emergency.  He  claimed  in  his 
own  defence  that  he  quit  trading  to  New  Orleans  before 
he  reentered  the  army,  and  that  the  sums  he  received 
were  due  him  on  old  accounts.  This  was  a  bold  but 
flimsy  assertion,  and  might  have  been  disproved  by 
Wilkinson's  former  partners,  and  his  last  book-keeper, 
Philip  Nolan  ;  but  it  was  not '  done.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  incriminating  documentary  evidence,  the 
letters  Miro  sent  to  Spain,  and  the  copy  of  the  agreement 
between  them,  were  not  then  available  —  their  existence 
was  not  known.  They  were  discovered  years  later. 

Yet  Wilkinson  was  acquitted,  as  Burr  was  acquitted, 
mainly  because  there  had  been  treason  among  the  people, 
and  because  it  is  difficult  to  convict  an  individual  of  a 
crime  that  has  had  a  popular  sympathy  and  support. 
After  his  acquittal  he  was  given  a  command,  in  1813, 
of  the  army  operating  against  Canada,  away  from  the 
scenes  of  his  disgraceful  traffic.  He  blundered  badly, 
and  was  court-martialed  again,  this  time  for  cowardice  ; 
but  again  he  was  acquitted,  although  stigmatized  by 
General  Scott  as  "that  unprincipled  imbecile." 

For  resourceful  intrigue,  cunning  in  forestalling  detec- 
tion, and  villainy  of  scope  and  imagination,  he  was  a 
character  to  whom  his  Moorship's  ancient,  lago,  would 
hardly  have  been  a  capable  understudy.  He  played  fast 


108  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

and  loose  with  friend  and  foe  alike,  false  to  every  interest 
but  his  own  selfish  purposes. 

There  was  a  romance  growing  out  of  Burr's  disastrous  ex- 
ploit which  does  not  appear  to  have  been  repeated  as  often 
as  most  others  of  his  life.  Wherever  Aaron  Burr  tarried 
long  there  always  was  a  romance.  Some  writers  who  have 
inclined  to  view  his  career  with  the  eye  of  extenuation,  if 
not  of  apology,  have  treated  "  the  Madeline  story  "  as  that 
of  at  least  one  event  in  which  the  arch-adventurer's  heart 
was  touched  to  sincerity.  How  much  of  tradition  there 
is  in  it,  and  how  much  of  the  other  kind  of  history,  may  be 
left  as  uncertain  —  it  merely  adds  interest  to  the  tale. 

The  story  is  given  in  a  serious  history  of  Mississippi, 
and  the  authority  for  it  credited  to  Governor  Claiborne ; 
and  the  Governor  is  not  reputed  to  have  been  given  to 
fiction-weaving,  at  least,  in  a  professional  sense. 

If  Claiborne  may  be  trusted,  Madeline  was  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  beings  that  ever  entranced  the  visions  of 
men.  What  her  other  name  was  the  Governor  seemingly 
did  not  think  it  necessary  to  state.  In  this  omission  may 
be  discerned  a  sly  intention  on  his  part  to  tease  our  curi- 
osity ;  or  the  good  man  may  have  assumed  that  it  would 
live  in  romance,  and  everybody  be  familiar  with  it. 

But,  that  aside,  Madeline  was  bewitchingly  beautiful, 
and,  alas  !  poor.  In  this  we  have  a  love-tale  as  a  states- 
man recites  it,  and  without  technical  attention  to  personal 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  109 

descriptions.  Madeline  was  distractingly  beautiful.  She 
lived  with  her  mother  in  a  vine-decked  cottage  situated 
midway  between  the  mansions  of  Colonel  Osman  and 
Major  Isaac  Guion.  It  might  have  been  looked  for,  con- 
sidering the  Governor's  training  in  the  employment  of 
legal  terms,  that  he  would  have  described  the  location  as 
lying  and  being  situate,  but  he  did  not.  It  no  doubt  ran 
that  way  in  the  mortgage  on  Madeline's  mother's  little 
plantation  —  but  let  that  be  forgotten. 

Between  the  mansions,  and  leading  by  the  cottage  for 
much  of  the  way,  was  a  trellised  walk  shaded  from  the 
fierce  sunheat  by  fragrant  evergreens.  Now  Aaron  Burr 
was  a  guest  at  Colonel  Osman's.  After  he  had  been 
placed  under  arrest  for  frightening  the  souls  of  General 
Wilkinson  and  Acting  Governor  Mead  into  a  quiver,  and 
incidentally  plotting  to  break  up  the  Union,  the  colonel, 
with  a  chivalrous  feeling  toward  a  gentleman  in  trouble, 
signed  Burr's  bond  for  his  appearance,  and  then  made  him 
comfortable  in  his  house  to  await  the  outcome.  Many 
people  of  quality  thereabouts  did  not  believe  the  accused 
guilty,  and  if  he  was,  it  was  a  sort  of  offence  they  felt  a 
good  deal  of  sympathy  with,  anyhow. 

In  this  quiet  retreat,  as  beautiful  as  it  was  peaceful,  the 
spirit  of  Aaron  Burr  communed  with  nature  as  he  paced 
the  trellised  walk,  or  meditated  upon  the  vicissitudes  of 
politics  and  conspiracies  —  which  were  all  the  same  to 
him.  Dapper  and  elegant  beyond  the  men  he  had  landed 


110  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

among,  handsome  and  winning,  with  something  of  the 
ideal  prince  about  him,  his  was  a  personality  almost  irre- 
sistible both  to  men  and  women. 

Within  a  very  short  time  this  restless  spirit  yearned, 
and  as  he  yearned  he  passed  the  little  cottage  and  beheld 
Madeline,  a  perfect  woodland  nymph,  too  shy  to  be  caught 
casting  a  look  toward  him.  She  was  conning  her  lonely 
lesson  amid  the  roses  that  grew  beside  the  cottage  door. 
Her  mother  was  visiting  the  narrow  field  which  was  tilled 
by  her  two  or  three  faithful  slaves  who  had  come  with 
them  from  Virginia,  who  had  cleared  the  land,  and  pro- 
tected the  widow  and  her  daughter  from  the  dangers  of 
the  wild. 

And  now  here  was  Madeline  dangerously  alone,  for 
the  tempter  whose  sparkling  eyes  gazed  upon  her  was 
known  of  all  persons  as  the  one  most  to  be  dreaded 
among  a  nation.  Yet  so  strong  was  the  power  of 
innocence  and  purity  that  they  were  Madeline's  shield 
—  and  Aaron  Burr  walked  on. 

So  favorite  now  had  become  the  walk  between  the 
two  mansions  that  the  interesting  visitor  was  noted  as 
giving  more  time  to  strolling  it  than  to  communion 
with  his  friends  at  either  house.  And  what  should 
happen  ?  Could  a  sweet  maiden  of  sixteen  keep  always 
among  the  roses  at  her  door?  Perhaps  the  day  she 
ventured  along  the  trellised  ramble  she  supposed 
the  handsome  stranger  would  not  appear  again,  he 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  111 

having  gone  by  some  time  before.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
none  could  blame  her  that  he  returned  and  met  her 
with  the  courtliest  of  bows.  She  could  not  run  away 
like  a  frightened  hare.  Being  well-bred  she  was  not 
frightened.  And  if  she  felt  the  trepidation  natural  to 
girlhood,  his  agreeable  manner  soon  reassured  her. 

Would  she  do  him  the  great  kindness  to  tell  him 
who  lived  in  the  lovely  cottage  to  the  right?  —  the 
sight  of  it  had  been  a  source  of  such  exquisite  pleas- 
ure to  him  in  his  lonely  walks.  Ah,  to  be  sure,  a 
delightful  confirmation  —  he  was  quite  certain  that  he 
had  caught  glimpses  of  her  as  he  passed  —  stolen 
glimpses,  the  boldness  of  which  she  surely  would  for- 
give when  she  understood  what  a  solace  it  had  been 
to  him  in  his  enforced  seclusion. 

As  he  spoke  he  did  not  seem  impertinent.  She  for- 
got that  he  was  notorious,  if  indeed  she  had  previ- 
ously realized  it.  She  did  not  remember  that  he  was 
old,  as  compared  with  her  own  tender  years.  He 
was  affable,  simple,  sympathetic.  He  hoped  it  would 
be  his  privilege  before  he  departed  to  make  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  fortunate  father  of — 

No  father?     It  was  a  sad  misfortune! 

"  My  father,"  said  Madeline,  "  was  so  strong  and 
loving  that  I  love  to  talk  of  him  ;  but  his  death  was 
such  a  dreadful  tragedy  that  I  'm  afraid  when  I  remem- 
ber it.  He  was  killed  by  the  savage  Indians  who 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

attacked  our  camp  one  night  when  we  were  moving 
out  here  from  Virginia.  He  was  the  first  to  defend  us. 
I  was  only  ten,  and  was  so  frightened  I  could  n't  even 
cry  out.  Oh,  sir,  that  terrible  night ! " 

It  might  not  have  been  because  of  a  tear  that  the 
listener  touched  his  lace  handkerchief  to  his  eye,  but 
nevertheless  there  was  a  slight  tremble  to  his  voice 
when  he  spoke.  The  next  day  he  stopped  at  the 
cottage.  And  now  it  mattered  not  whether  Madeline 
met  him  down  the  walk  under  the  fir  trees  that  whis- 
pered a  monotone  of  sadness  in  the  southern  breeze. 
But  she  frequently  did  —  and  the  days  went  the  faster 
for  it  to  both. 

Then  came  a  twilight  when  he  spoke  sorrowfully.  In 
the  clasp  of  his  hand  was  the  thrill  of  what  was  now 
to  her  the  universe. 

"Madeline,  let  us  not  part!  To-morrow  I  must  go. 
I  am  persecuted,  but  I  shall  triumph.  Come  with  me, 
Madeline,  my  love,  my  soul ! " 

She  could  not  answer.  They  walked  on  the  knoll 
called  the  Half-way  Hill.  Here  Madeline  heard  the 
witchery  of  his  words  as  she  had  never  heard  it  before. 
He  told  her  that  he  had  despaired  of  obtaining  justice. 
He  had  great  and  powerful  enemies  who  were  bent  on 
working  his  destruction,  and  he  had  determined  to 
secretly  leave  the  country.  He  had  been  famous  — 
he  would  again  be  rich  and  great.  She  should  have 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  113 

wealth  and  high  position  in  the  social  world,  a  position 
for  which  her  grace  and  beauty  destined  her.  To  her 
he  would  be  true  as  the  fixed  stars  above  them.  It  had 
been  his  dream  to  wear  imperial  honors.  His  plans 
were  not  yet  dead.  There  were  powerful  aids  beyond 
the  seas  that  he  could  count  on.  He  needed  only  her 
to  spur  him  onward. 

But  Madeline,  in  tears  and  pain,  would  not  consent. 
They  were  not  married,  and  her  faith  would  not  per- 
mit her  to  think  of  fleeing  with  him  without  first 
becoming  his  wife.  And  there  was  her  mother  whom 
she  could  not  leave  broken-hearted  and  alone  —  no,  it 
was  impossible!  Love  was  mighty,  but  she  could  not 
commit  so  great  a  sin ! 

Late  that  night  Aaron  Burr  silently  left  his  friend's 
house,  took  from  his  stable  a  favorite  horse,  and  sped 
away.  But  he  could  not  leave  without  once  more 
seeing  Madeline  and  beseeching  her  to  accompany  him. 
He  returned  at  daylight  to  her  cottage,  and  at  her 
open  window  renewed  his  entreaties.  All  the  dazzling 
prizes  that  could  tempt  a  maiden  of  beauty  and 
ambition  he  promised  her  if  she  would  go  —  they 
would  be  married  at  the  first  opportunity ;  happiness 
and  glory  awaited  ! 

Still  the  loving  but  sensible  girl  refused.  She  loved 
him ;  she  would  wait  till  he  had  conquered  fortune 
again  and  came  for  her.  Let  them  give  each  other 

8 


114  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

their  promises.  She  would  remain  true  to  hers  —  for- 
ever if  need  be.  And  so  they  plighted  their  hearts, 
and  the  disappointed  wooer  rode  rapidly  away,  to  be 
taken  again  very  soon  by  rough  soldiery,  and  dragged 
to  Richmond  to  stand  trial  for  his  life. 

For  several  years  Madeline  waited,  true  to  her  prom- 
ise, and  with  a  firm  belief  that  he  would  come  again. 
Often  was  she  observed  resorting  alone  to  the  shaded 
walks  where  she  had  listened  to  the  fascinating  music 
of  his  words.  But  Aaron  Burr  came  not  again. 

Years  later,  when  he  was  a  wanderer  and  an  outcast 
in  Europe,  he  wrote  to  her  of  the  utter  hopelessness  of 
his  circumstances,  and  released  her  from  her  troth.  He 
stated  that  he  did  not  intend  ever  to  return  to  his 
native  land  again  and,  assuming  with  sublime  egotism 
that  she  could  never  give  her  heart  to  another,  advised 
her,  should  she  survive  her  mother,  to  enter  a  con- 
vent. In  just  what  spirit  Madeline  received  this  pious 
advice  cannot  be  stated.  But  a  year  or  two  later  she 
went  with  a  neighboring  family  to  Havana. 

It  is  here  that  one  is  tempted  to  doubt  the  historical 
accuracy  of  the  Governor's  story,  for  it  does  not  seem 
that  any  human  beauty  could  create  such  a  furore  of 
enthusiasm  as  he  says  Madeline's  did  among  the  people 
of  the  Cuban  capital.  It  had  almost  a  maddening 
effect  upon  the  cavaliers ;  the  populace  besieged  the 
hotel  where  she  was  a  guest ;  she  was  entertained  by  the 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  115 

Governor-General,  and  crowds  gathered  about  her  wher- 
ever she  went.  At  night  she  could  hardly  rest  because 
of  the  continuous  throngs  of  serenaders  that  sang  before 
her  windows.  Many  balls  were  given  in  her  honor,  and 
the  offers  of  marriage  she  received  —  well,  there  was 
no  accurate  list  of  them  preserved. 

Of  course,  she  was  among  a  gallant  and  impressionable 
people;  but  one  may  be  allowed  the  inference,  even 
though  Governor  Claiborne  failed  to  hint  at  anything 
of  the  kind,  that  the  tales  of  her  romantic  betrothal  to 
the  most  notorious  adventurer  of  the  time  had  much 
to  do  with  the  sensation  she  aroused. 

Be  it  that  or  no,  she  returned  to  the  cottage  near 
the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  again  was  seen  alone  by  the 
trellised  walk.  But  not  for  long.  An  Englishman,  a 
wise,  calculating  young  man,  who  had  looked  with  quiet 
adoration  upon  her  at  Havana  while  the  cavaliers  were 
losing  their  senses,  followed  her  home.  He  won  her 
hand,  and  presumably  her  heart.  After  a  brief  court- 
ship she  married  him,  and  their  future  years  were  spent 
in  peace  and  happiness.  Both  are  dead,  said  the  good 
Governor  with  a  parting  touch  of  sentiment,  but  the 
old  Half-way  Hill  still  lifts  its  aged  brow,  wrinkled 
with  tradition,  to  mark  the  scene  of  Madeline's  strange 
romance. 

The  reader  is  inclined  to  wonder  whether  this  is  as 
fanciful  as  Wilt's  too  famous  description  of  the  deluded 


116  THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

Blennerhasset  and  his  beautiful  wife.  They  never  were 
deserving  of  the  sympathy  that  was  aroused  for  them 
by  Wirt's  maudlin  declamation.  But  Burr  seems  to  have 
conjured  up  a  romance  and  mist  of  unreality  wherever  he 
went. 


CHAPTER  V 


Philip  Nolan's  Expedition  of  Conquest—  Visions  of  Empire  —  Invades 
Texas  —  Sudden  Disaster  —  Quaint  Memoir  of  Ellis  Bean. 

N  October  of  1800, 
Philip  Nolan  started 
on  an  expedition 
from  Natchez,  Miss., 
with  a  company  of 
less  than  two  dozen 
men,  his  design  be- 
ing to  effect  the 
conquest  and  per- 
manent occupation 
of  Texas. 

Reckless  and  dar- 
ing as  this  undertak- 
ing was,  it  is  saved 
from  the  Quixotic 
category  of  ventures  by  a  proper  consideration  of  the  con- 
ditions that  confronted  him.  Aside  from  the  savages 
within  its  undefined  borders,  Texas  at  that  time  had  only 
a  few  hundred  inhabitants,  practically  all  of  whom  were 
Mexicans.  There  were  two  or  three  companies  of  Mexican 


118  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

troops  scattered  throughout  the  province  to  maintain  order 
and  prevent  the  intrusion  of  foreigners.  Up  to  this  time 
these  troops  had  not  been  overburdened  with  the  last- 
mentioned  part  of  their  duties  ;  few  civilized  people  had 
quite  so  abandoned  themselves  to  dismal  solitudes  as  to 
want  to  enter  Texas. 

The  viceroy  of  Mexico  was  supposed  by  the  Americans 
to  have  all  he  could  well  attend  to  in  preventing  insurrec- 
tion and  rebellion  without  sending  a  large  force  to  his 
distant  and  uninhabited  frontiers.  Louisiana  had  just 
been  retroceded  to  France,  thus  making  it  unnecessary  to 
traverse  a  Spanish  territory  in  order  to  reach  the  Texan 
border.  And  it  was  believed  by  Nolan  that  France  would 
wink  at  the  little  discourtesy  toward  Spain  which  he  was 
preparing  to  commit. 

Besides  all  this,  the  venturesome  Mississippian  counted 
on  picking  up  a  good  many  volunteers  on  the  march 
across  Louisiana,  while  a  number  of  his  acquaintances  were 
expected  to  follow  and  join  him  before  he  began  the 
invasion. 

As  before  noted,  invasion  of  the  Mexican  country  had 
been  a  popular  theme  of  discussion  among  the  South- 
western settlements.  Almost  everybody  believed  that 
sooner  or  later  it  was  bound  to  come.  And  so  it  was 
not  necessary  in  organizing  this  expedition,  as  it  is  natural 
to  suppose  it  would  be  when  fitting  out  for  a  hostile 
attack  against  a  nation  with  which  our  government  was 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  119 

at  peace,  to  conduct  the  business  in  secret.  Almost 
every  person  in  Natchez  knew  of  Nolan's  designs.  He 
had  been  to  Texas  three  years  before,  in  1797.  His 
mission  then  was  to  procure  horses  for  the  army,  and 
the  trip  was  under  the  direction  of  General  Wilkinson. 

There  was  a  Spanish  consul  resident  at  Natchez.  Infor- 
mation of  Nolan's  enterprise  reached  his  loyal  ears. 
Senor  Vidal  entered  a  protest  against  it  by  a  written 
memorial  to  Governor  Sargent.  The  Governor,  of  course, 
professed  that  he  could  not  see  anything  in  the  movement 
worth  growing  excited  about.  But  he  called  Federal 
Judge  Bruin  for  a  joint  consideration  of  the  matter. 
Before  them  appeared  Nolan  and  exhibited  a  passport 
to  enter  Texas  issued  to  him  by  Don  Pedro  de  Neva, 
commandant-general  of  the  northeastern  internal  prov- 
ince of  Mexico. 

"  But,"  insisted  Consul  Vidal,  "  may  I  be  permitted  to 
examine  that  passport  ?  I  have  had  advices  that  lead  me 
to  believe  none  such  has  been  issued.  Ah,  to  be  sure ! 
The  date  justifies  me.  You  see,  your  Excellencies,  that 
this  passport  was  issued  to  Mr.  Nolan  back  in  1797.  His 
trip  to  the  province  three  years  ago  was  understood  to  be 
for  a  legitimate  purpose.  There  was  no  military  prepara- 
tion. The  commandant-general  was  pleased  to  grant  the 
passport  as  a  courtesy  to  General  Wilkinson.  It  was  in- 
tended to  be  for  that  particular  expedition  only.  I  main- 
tain, your  Excellencies,  that  it  grants  no  privilege  now." 


120  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

But  neither  the  Governor  nor  the  judge,  both  appointed 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  sworn  to 
maintain  the  dignity  and  the  laws  of  the  nation  in  the 
Territory,  could  see  it  in  that  peculiar  light,  —  that  a 
passport  issued  for  a  certain  visit  was  not  a  passport  for 
a  lifetime;  or  that  one  issued  to  a  horse-buyer  was  not 
good  to  a  man  intending  to  subvert  the  government.  So 
they  pronounced  in  Nolan's  favor. 

There  were  other  Spaniards  at  Natchez  besides  the 
consul.  Some  half-dozen  of  them  enlisted  with  Nolan. 
They  were  former  residents  of  Mexico,  and  were  sojourn- 
ing abroad  because  of  having  been  implicated  in  some  of 
the  political  troubles  at  home,  and  were  glad  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  strike  at  the  vice-regal  power.  They  knew  per- 
fectly well  what  the  scheme  was,  and  were  only  astounded 
that  the  American  authorities,  knowing  also,  should  have, 
in  a  manner,  set  their  approval  on  it.  On  his  first  trip 
Nolan  had  drawn  a  map  of  the  country,  and  there  can  be 
little  doubt,  judging  from  various  evidences,  that  he  had 
contemplated  this  project  since  that  time. 

Philip  Nolan  was  a  protege  of  Wilkinson,  and  for  many 
years  prior  to  this  date  had  been  in  his  employ.  He  was 
the  book-keeper  and  shipping  clerk  for  the  general  in  the 
years  of  the  latter's  privileged  trading  to  New  Orleans.  He 
closed  up  the  last  business  of  Wilkinson  and  Dunn  when 
they  ceased  operations  in  1791,  at  the  time  Wilkinson 
reentered  the  army.  If  he  did  not  know  all  about  the 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  121 

traitor's  compact  with  Miro  and  Carondelet,  the  Spanish 
Governors,  it  is  entirely  safe  to  say  that  he  did  a  lot  of 
pretty  accurate  surmising. 

The  confidential  relations  subsisting  between  the  two 
is  attested  by  the  letter  which  the  general  gave  Nolan  to 
Governor  Gayoso  de  Lemos,  under  date  of  February  6, 
1797,  when  he  went  on  the  horse-buying  business.  It  was 
as  follows : 

This  will  be  delivered  to  you  by  Nolan,  who,  you  know, 
is  a  child  of  my  own  raising,  true  to  his  profession,  and  firm 
in  his  attachment  to  Spain.  I  consider  him  a  powerful 
instrument  in  our  hands,  should  occasion  offer.  I  will  answer 
for  his  conduct.  I  am  deeply  interested  in  whatever  con- 
cerns him,  and  I  confidently  recommend  him  to  your  warmest 
protection.  I  am  evidently  your  affectionate 

WILKINSON. 

This  letter  would  indicate  that  the  mission  of  the  bearer 
was  something  of  a  more  mysterious  nature  than  the  cap- 
ture of  wild  horses  on  the  Texas  plains,  and  it  is  also  one 
more  piece  of  evidence  that  the  writer  was  in  unlawful 
commerce  with  the  Spaniards.  It  would  seem  that  Nolan 
was  also  "a  good  Spaniard"  in  those  days — just  as  his 
chief  was. 

It  is  altogether  probable  that  even  at  the  date  of  the 
letter  Wilkinson  was  acting  in  bad  faith  with  his  co- 
conspirators,  the  Spaniards  ;  that  he  had  in  contemplation 
a  movement  against  Texas  and  Mexico,  and  that  he  was 


122  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

employing  Nolan  to  spy  out  the  land.  It  is  certain,  at 
least,  that  Nolan  imbibed  his  ideas  of  attacking  the  Spanish 
possessions  from  the  arch-plotter,  and  that  he  was  under- 
taking this  expedition  with  his  approbation. 

Consul  Vidal,  having  the  decision  against  him  on  the 
question  of  the  passport,  sent  a  message  by  express  to  the 
Spanish  commandant,  De  Neva,  at  Washita,  informing 
him  of  the  projected  invasion,  and  declaring  that  Nolan" 
was  a  dangerous  character  who  had  long  been  plotting 
with  Wilkinson  against  the  Spaniards.  The  consul  acted 
with  commendable  promptness,  for  Nolan  had  proceeded 
only  forty  miles  westward  from  the  Mississippi  when  he 
was  met  by  a  Spanish  patrol  of  fifty  men.  Then  followed 
a  parley.  The  captain  of  the  patrol  was  no  Caesar.  He 
listened  to  Nolan's  plausible  story  of  his  desire  to  cultivate 
amicable  business  relations  with  the  posts  and  settlements 
in  Texas,  heard  how  the  would-be  trader  had  been  there 
before,  and  a  lot  of  other  things  indicating  that  he  had 
been  on  intimate  terms  with  the  Spaniards.  In  addition, 
there  were  the  Spaniards  themselves  in  Nolan's  train  to 
assure  the  patrol  captain  that  it  was  all  right ;  and  being 
fairly  argued  out,  the  captain  let  them  pass. 

But  Nolan  knew  this  was  not  the  obstacle  to  be  feared 
the  most.  There  was  another  company  of  defenders  at 
Washita,  or  Ouachita,  the  place  to  which,  four  years  later, 
Aaron  Burr  pretended  to  be  steering  his  horny-handed 
colonizers.  Not  desiring  to  risk  another  arguing  match,  or 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  123 

any  other  kind  of  engagement,  Nolan  left  the  trail  and 
swung  wide  around  Washita,  across  the  prairie  covered 
with  high  grass,  and  through  the  trackless  forests. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  little  band  received  any 
addition  to  its  numbers  on  its  march  across  Louisiana. 
On  the  contrary,  three  of  its  members,  Mordecai  Richards, 
John  Adams,  and  John  King,  strayed  from  the  main  body 
either  in  quest  of  game  or  in  scouting  for  the  enemy,  got 
completely  lost,  failed  either  to  find  their  party  again  or 
to  pick  up  its  trail,  and  finally  made  their  way  back  to 
Natchez.  It  is  hinted  in  at  least  one  of  the  accounts 
of  the  undertaking  that  there  was  method  in  their  stray- 
ing —  that  they  weakened  before  the  dangers  and  toil  they 
were  encountering,  and  deserted. 

The  remaining  force  of  about  twenty  men  passed  around 
the  head  of  Lake  Bastineau,  crossed  Red  River,  and  a  few 
miles  farther  on  came  to  an  Indian  village.  It  was  of  the 
Ceddo  tribe.  The  savages  evidently  had  not  had  much  ex- 
perience with  civilized  men,  for  they  treated  Nolan  and  his 
followers  in  a  very  friendly  manner,  supplied  them  with 
fresh  horses  and  provisions,  and  sent  them  on  their  way 
much  recuperated. 

This  puny  band  now  entered  the  country  they  expected 
to  subjugate.  There  was  nothing  to  hinder  them,  nobody 
to  dispute  their  passage  of  the  Sabine  or  the  Neches. 
There  was  nothing  to  worry  them  but  insects  and  distance 
—  seemingly  interminable  distance.  After  many  tiresome 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

days  they  arrived  at  the  Brazos.  They  were  now  well 
into  the  coveted  land.  It  was  not  so  bad,  either.  Here 
was  a  river  not  so  muddy  as  some  they  had  struggled 
across,  woods  at  least  partly  without  swamps,  and  a  variety 
of  game  all  around. 

Nolan  considered  it  a  good  place  at  which  to  halt, 
especially  as  they  were  approaching  the  Comanche  coun- 
try, and  the  Comanches  were  reputed  to  have  a  peculiar 
liking  for  the  white  man's  scalp.  So  he  and  his  men  made 
camp,  felled  trees,  and  built  a  large  corral  of  logs.  This 
was  intended  for  the  wild  horses  they  would  capture,  for 
they  were  aware  that  nothing  so  aids  man  in  his  enter- 
prises of  exploration  and  conquest  as  the  horse.  Tens 
of  thousands  of  mustangs  roamed  the  plains  as  wild  as 
the  deer.  Soon-  the  invaders  had  some  three  hundred  of 
them  captive  in  the  corral.  What  with  lassoing  and 
breaking  these  animals,  hunting  the  deer  and  jerking 
meat,  shooting  wild-fowl,  and  supplying  their  mess  with 
fresh  fish  from  the  river,  there  was  nothing  for  anyone 
to  complain  of,  unless  it  was  the  incessant  labors  of  the 
two  negro  cooks. 

By  and  by,  and  not  so  long  either,  came  along  a  visit- 
ing party  of  two  hundred  Comanche  warriors.  Not  a  very 
cheerful  thing,  to  have  such  a  lot  of  visitors  come  into 
the  camp  of  twenty  white  men  hundreds  of  miles  from  any 
possibility  of  help.  But  these  Comanches  were  good  fel- 
lows. They  partook  of  the  white  men's  cheer,  stayed  with 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  125 

them  a  few  days,  and  then  invited  the  whole  outfit  to 
visit  their  chief,  Necoroco,  whose  royal  headquarters  were 
upon  the  south  fork  of  Red  River. 

To  accept  seemed  like  going  into  voluntary  captivity, 
perhaps  to  slaughter.  To  refuse  would  doubtless  offend 
the  warriors,  which  would  mean  a  hostile  attack  very  soon, 
and  annihilation.  Nolan  grasped  the  former  horn  of  the 
seemingly  ugly  alternative,  and  it  proved  a  wise  action. 
Leaving  only  a  few  of  their  number  to  guard  the  corral 
and  care  for  the  horses,  the  party  packed  up  and  took  to  the 
trail  with  the  savages,  whither  they  could  hardly  surmise. 
But  after  several  days1  journey  they  arrived  at  Necoroco')s 
camp,  and  found  that  they  had  not  been  deceived.  The 
chief  received  them  hospitably,  provided  them  with 
wigwams  and  food,  and  invited  them  to  make  them- 
selves entirely  at  home,  —  which  the  white  men  happily 
proceeded  to  do. 

This  incident  is  evidence  that  the  Comanche  has  not 
been  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances  the 
treacherous  savage  which  his  later  conduct  stamped  him. 
What  palaver  Nolan  gave  these  warriors,  —  whether  he 
entered  into  any  alliance  with  them  against  other 
tribes,  —  the  annals  of  the  expedition  do  not  make 
clear.  It  is  quite  likely  that  he  entered  into  some 
compact  with  Necoroco  which  that  chief  considered 
would  be  to  his  advantage;  yet  it  would  be  doing  him 
an  injustice  to  insist  that  such  was  the  motive  of  his 


126  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

hospitality.  His  guests  remained  with  his  people  a 
month  on  most  amicable  terms,  joining  with  them  in 
the  chase,  and  participating  in  their  games  and  festi- 
vals. It  appears  that  other  tribes  visited  Necoroco 
during  this  time;  that  there  was  a  general  peace  exist- 
ing between  them,  and  it  may  have  been  that  there 
was  a  sort  of  congress  of  nations.  Anyway,  the  white 
men  made  many  friends  among  the  savages,  and 
returned  to  their  camp  on  the  Brazos  well  pleased 
with  their  experience. 

But  they  were  not  allowed  to  return  alone.  For 
reasons  of  his  own  —  ostensibly  as  a  protection  to  his 
visitors  —  Necoroco  sent  an  escort  of  able  warriors  with 
them.  These  redskins  stayed  awhile  at  the  Brazos, 
exhibiting  the  most  familiar  friendship.  Then  they 
indulged  a  racial  idiosyncrasy  by  departing  suddenly  in 
the  night  and  taking  with  them  all  the  tame  horses, 
eleven  in  number,  which  the  invaders  had  left.  They 
also  took  some  camp  articles  that  were  lying  about 
handy. 

Of  course  that  was  a  great  loss  to  the  white  men. 
Although  they  had  a  corralful  of  mustangs,  it  was  a 
slow  and  tedious  task  to  break  them  into  reliable  ser- 
vice. After  a  conference  it  was  decided,  therefore,  to 
make  an  effort  to  recover  their  tame  beasts,  even  if  they 
had  to  go  clear  to  Red  River  and  make  an  appeal 
to  Necoroco.  Nolan  decided  to  head  the  rescuing 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  127 

party  himself,  and  took  with  him  only  five  others, 
fearing  there  might  be  an  attack  on  his  camp,  which 
was  now  known  as  Tehuacana  Hill.  The  party  of  six 
set  out  on  foot,  of  necessity.  It  could  not  burden  itself 
with  a  provision  supply,  and  had  to  kill  its  game  as  it 
went.  The  rescuers  were  mad  clear  through  at  being 
so  outrageously  treated  after  such  a  friendly  exchange 
of  courtesies,  and  their  confidence  in  their  savage  neigh- 
bors, which  had  been  raised  to  a  high  register,  took  a 
sudden  drop. 

After  a  forced  march  of  a  week  they  came  up  with 
their  cattle,  which  were  in  charge  of  a  single  Indian. 
It  was  surmised  that  the  others,  on  discovering  the 
whites  after  them,  and  not  wanting  to  be  caught  red- 
handed,  had  abandoned  the  herd  to  this  individual. 
The  fellow  had  but  one  eye,  but  he  was  not  blind  to 
his  situation.  He  professed  much  astonishment,  and  de- 
clared it  was  an  unfortunate  mistake ;  that  being  minus 
an  eye  he  had  been  unable  to  distinguish,  and  had  taken 
the  white  men's  horses  for  their  own. 

Nolan  considered  the  rascal  too  good  a  joker  to 
kill,  so  he  had  him  tied  securely,  and  took  him  back 
to  camp  with  the  recovered  steeds.  They  returned  to 
Tehuacana  Hill  after  an  absence  of  thirteen  days,  and 
their  success  occasioned  much  rejoicing.  A  large  log 
house  had  now  been  built.  Good  health  prevailed. 
Privations  were  not  rigorous,  and  the  question  of 


128  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

future  movements  was  discussed.  But  Philip  Nolan's 
sands  were  running  fast. 

While  the  horse-thief  chasers  were  still  resting  from 
their  hard  trip,  there  was  an  unlooked-for  attack  on  their 
camp.  This  was  made  by  a  company  of  sixty-eight  regu- 
lar and  thirty-two  volunteer  Spanish  troops  under  com- 
mand of  Nimesio  Salcedo,  who  had  succeeded  Pedro  de 
Neva  as  commandant-general.  It  occurred  on  the  night 
of  March  22,  1801.  The  outpost  was  surprised,  and  the 
guard  of  seven,  consisting  of  five  of  Nolan's  Spanish 
followers  and  two  Americans,  were  taken  prisoners.  The 
enemy  attacked  the  main  camp  at  daybreak.  There  were 
now  left  only  twelve  Americans  and  one  negro.  They 
fought  from  the  square  enclosure  of  logs,  but  in  about 
ten  minutes  after  the  firing  began  Captain  Nolan  received 
a  rifle  ball  in  the  head  and  was  almost  instantly  killed. 

Thus  perished  the  first  and  perhaps  the  most  audacious 
of  the  American  adventurers  who  made  hostile  expeditions 
against  Texas.  His  invasion  was  thwarted  almost  before 
it  was  fairly  begun  ;  in  fact,  he  had  not  been  able  to  begin 
it  on  the  scale  he  hoped. 

Before  Nolan  ceased  breathing  the  command  was  seized 
by  Ellis  Bean,  the  youngest  of  the  company,  as  certainly 
he  was  the  most  reckless  and  resolute.  He  was  only 
eighteen,  according  to  his  own  reckoning,  but  he  had  the 
nerve  and  daring  of  a  hardened  buccaneer.  The  very 
first  thing  he  proposed  was  to  charge  and  attempt  the 


ELLIS  BEAN 
Of  the  Nolan  Expedition 


I 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  129 

capture  of  a  small  cannon  which  the  Spaniards  had 
brought  along,  and  which  now  was  belching  grapeshot 
into  the  log  enclosure  at  short  range.  His  companions 
refused  to  accompany  him.  They  did  not  long  for  the 
glory  of  martyrdom.  But  they  held  their  fort  all  day, 
by  steady  firing  keeping  the  enemy  off  till  after  dark,  with 
only  two  men  wounded. 

They  then  planned  a  retreat,  filling  their  powder-horns 
and  giving  the  rest  of  their  powder  to  the  negro  to  carry. 
While  crossing  a  creek  under  fire  of  the  pursuing  Span- 
iards, the  negro  and  one  of  the  wounded  men  stopped 
and  surrendered.  That  left  nine  in  the  retreating  party. 
Coming  to  a  deep  ravine  they  took  refuge  till  morning. 
Then  a  messenger  came  with  a  white  flag  to  tell  them 
they  must  leave  the  country.  Not  a  stunning  demand, 
to  be  sure,  and  to  it  they  readily  agreed,  with  the  stipu- 
lation that  they  were  not  to  give  up  their  arms. 

So  they  went  back  and  buried  Nolan  and  started  under 
a  guard  of  Mexicans  for  Nacogdoches,  the  most  easterly 
post  and  settlement  in  Texas.  When  they  came  to 
Trinity  River  they  found  it  running  over  its  banks. 
Bean  and  his  companions  made  a  cottonwood  canoe  in 
which  they  politely  sent  the  guards  across  first,  three 
or  four  at  a  time,  one  paddling  the  pirogue  back.  Then 
a  bright  idea  occurred  to  Bean.  He  proposed  to  his 
fellows,  who  were  all  on  the  west  bank  together  with 
the  Spanish  captain  and  most  of  their  arms,  to  throw 


130  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

the  Spaniards'  guns  into  the  river,  take  the  ammunition, 
capture  the  guard,  and  go  on  their  way.  He  relates  very 
regretfully  that  while  one  or  two  approved,  the  others 
thought  it  would  be  useless  so  long  as  they  were  being 
taken  home  anyway  —  a  fatal  error,  as  they  soon  dis- 
covered ;  and  one  which  Bean  bewailed  as  due  to  placing 
confidence  in  Spaniards,  "  a  people,"  he  adds,  "  in  whom 
you  should  place  no  trust  whatever." 

When  they  arrived  at  Nacogdoches  they  were  to  await 
orders  from  Chihuahua,  upon  receipt  of  which  the  inva- 
ders 'were  all  placed  in  irons  and  started  back  toward 
Mexico,  instead  of  being  allowed  to  continue  homeward. 
Now  began  a  long  career  of  misfortune  and  hardships 
which  Bean  was  the  only  one  to  survive.  Fifteen  years 
later,  after  he  had  returned  to  the  Mississippi  country,  he 
wrote  a  memoir  of  his  wanderings,  imprisonment,  and 
sufferings  which  combines  all  the  elements  of  romantic 
and  fortuitous  adventure  —  "  of  hairbreadth  'scapes  i'  the 
imminent  deadly  breach,"  of  love  and  torture  and  final 
triumph.  The  story  must  be  mainly  true,  for  it  is 
altogether  improbable  that  a  man  of  his  attainments 
could  have  composed  a  fiction  like  it. 

This  memoir  has  been  referred  to  in  some  of  the  his- 
tories of  the  Southwest  region  as  Bean's  diary,  but  it  is 
not  likely  that  he  kept  a  diary  during  the  years  it  covers, 
or  could  have  kept  one.  It  is  almost  a  certainty  that  he 
wrote  from  a  retentive  memory,  and  one  may  suspect  that 


I 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  131 

where  his  recollection  was  at  fault  as  to  details  he  gave 
his  imagination  free  exercise.  The  story  is  given  as  an 
appendix  to  Yoakum's  history  of  Texas,  the  only  time 
it  has  been  printed  in  full,  and  appears  to  have  been 
accepted  as  a  veracious  chronicle. 

This  Bean  was  an  original  package  of  audacity.  He 
was  reared  among  the  hills  near  Knoxville,  Tenn.  At 
the  age  of  seventeen  he  had  a  great  longing  to  see  other 
parts  of  the  world.  A  raw  but  self-confident  scion  of 
backwoods  hardihood,  with  little  schooling,  his  desire  was 
opposed  by  his  father.  Finally,  Ellis  was  entrusted  with 
a  boatload  of  flour  and  whiskey  which  he  was  to  take  down 
to  Natchez  to  market.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  friend 
of  about  his  own  age.  At  Muscle  Shoals  he  broke  his 
boat  in  pieces  on  a  rock  and  lost  all  his  cargo,  but  saved 
a  small  trunk  of  clothes.  He  had  his  reasons  for  not 
wanting  to  return  home,  so  he  kept  on,  any  way  he  could, 
to  Natchez,  near  which  place  he  had  an  uncle  living. 

When  he  arrived  there  Philip  Nolan  was  organizing 
his  expedition  for  the  subjugation  of  Texas,  and  young 
Bean  enlisted  with  him.  His  uncle  objected,  but  one  day 
when  both  uncle  and  aunt  were  away  from  home  Ellis 
took  one  of  their  best  horses  and  departed.  He  went  for 
three  months,  merely  borrowing  the  horse.  He  did  not 
get  back  for  twelve  years,  and  then  was  minus  the  steed. 
But  a  burning  desire  to  see  the  country  could  not  be 
smothered  by  an  observance  of  conventionalities. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Within  a  few  months  he  was  in  prison  at  San  Antonio, 
where  the  nine  captives  of  Salcedo  lay  several  months. 
Then  they  were  moved  along  to  San  Luis  Potosi,  where 
they  were  confined  sixteen  months.  It  was  supposed  they 
were  being  taken  to  Mexico  City,  but  at  that  pace  they 
began  to  doubt  of  ever  arriving  there.  Bean  now  began 
to  show  his  resourcefulness.  While  in  this  prison  they 
grew  very  ragged.  He  told  the  authorities  he  was  a 
shoemaker,  and  asked  the  privilege  of  sitting  at  the  prison 
door  during  the  daytime  and  making  footgear.  The 
request  was  granted  for  him  and  a  companion.  Bean  was 
no  shoemaker,  but  the  other  fellow  taught  him,  and  they 
made  a  bit  of  money  with  which  they  bought  clothes. 

After  a  while  they  were  moved  to  Chihuahua.  It  was 
an  agreeable  prison  custom  in  Mexico  in  those  days  to 
shift  the  inmates  occasionally  from  one  state  prison  to 
another,  —  an  especially  happy  plan  for  young  men  in  the 
toils  yet  anxious  to  "  see  the  country "  ;  even  though  the 
journeys  were  made  on  muleback  in  heavy  irons. 

The  officer  who  conducted  them  this  time  had  feeling. 
He  took  their  irons  off  at  Saltillo.  Now  this  was  grand 
—  riding  four  hundred  miles  through  interesting  scenery, 
hand-  and-foot-loose,  just  for  all  the  world  like  travelling 
for  one's  health.  Ellis  exults  over  it,  and  adds  : 

"  Along  the  road  and  at  all  the  towns  we  could  look 
at  places,  and  walk  about  and  see  the  inhabitants.  And 
we  noticed  that  everywhere  they  were  mixed  with  Indian, 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  133 

but  of  a  kind  friendly  disposed.  They  were  exceedingly 
kind  to  us,  presenting  us  with  fruits,  clothes,  and  money, 
so  that,  by  the  time  we  reached  Chihuahua,  we  began  to 
think  we  would  soon  regain  our  liberty." 

Why,  it  was  as  fine  as  a  triumphal  procession  of  bull- 
fighters. The  whole  memorandum  shows  that  Bean  was 
a  close  observer,  and  deeply  interested  in  new  people  and 
scenes. 

After  a  few  days  in  prison  at  Chihuahua,  they  were 
given  much  liberty,  though  required  to  sleep  in  the  sol- 
diers' barracks  at  night.  Each  man  was  allowed  a  quarter 
of  a  dollar  a  day  for  provisions  —  not  bad,  considering. 
And  finally  they  were  paroled,  some  going  to  other  towns. 
Now  Bean's  genius  begins  to  shine.  He  set  up  as  a 
hatter.  He  had  n't  ever  made  a  hat,  but  could  turn  his 
hand  deftly  to  any  trade,  —  as  was  the  case  with  most 
frontier  farmers  in  the  dear  primitive  days  when  everyone 
found  it  necessary  to  practise  artisanship  variously.  He 
found  a  merchant  who  trusted  him  for  materials,  then  he 
employed  two  Mexican  hatters.  Soon  he  had  a  reputa- 
tion for  excellent  hats,  and  extended  the  business  till, 
as  he  asserts,  he  made  as  high  as  fifty  to  sixty  dollars  a 
week.  He  laid  up  money  to  make  his  escape,  and  pre- 
pared for  it  by  buying  four  horses,  three  guns,  and  three 
brace  of  pistols.  This  was  after  he  had  worked  four  years 
at  establishing  a  manufacturing  business. 

Such  conditions  for  a  war  prisoner  seem  strange,  but 


134  THE  GLOBY  SEEKERS 

the  explanation  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  case  of  these 
nine  Americans  had  been  submitted  to  the  Spanish 
King  at  Madrid,  for  decision  as  to  their  fate,  and  such 
a  long  time  elapsed  without  hearing  from  his  Majesty 
that  the  authorities  began  to  consider  the  case  gone  by 
default.  In  truth,  Bean  says  his  companions  appeared 
to  be  contented  arid  happy,  all  having  taken  up  vari- 
ous occupations.  As  for  himself,  he  could  not  bear 
living  under  a  tyranny,  however  mild  ;  and  so  he  wrote 
to  one  of  his  old  comrades  whom  he  liked,  to  attempt 
an  escape  with  him. 

That  was  his  undoing.  The  letter  fell  into  the 
hands  of  another  of  his  party,  an  unprincipled  beggar, 
who  immediately  reported  it  to  the  commanding  offi- 
cer at  Chihuahua,  hoping  thus  to  ingratiate  himself 
with  that  authority.  Bean  seemed  to  take  delight 
in  publishing  to  an  abhorring  world  that  "this  rene- 
gade was  Tony  Waters,  of  Winchester,  Va."  It  is  not 
known  what  Tony  got  for  his  treachery,  but  Ellis  was 
soon  in  a  dungeon  and  again  in  irons.  They  also  put 
him  in  stocks  for  a  while.  The  hat  business  went  into 
the  hands  of  a  receiver;  it  is  not  hard  to  guess  whom, 
—  the  commandant  directing  things.  And  the  halcyon 
days  of  Bean  were  over. 

One  day  one  of  his  comrades  came  to  Bean's  cell, 
extremely  ill.  He  just  wanted  to  be  with  a  country- 
man during  his  last  days,  even  in  a  dungeon.  Ellis 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  135 

sent  out  and  got  wine  and  delicacies  for  him,  and 
wanted  him  to  go  to  more  comfortable  quarters,  but 
the  sick  man  refused.  Sad  days  followed,  and  in  the 
midst  of  their  affliction  a  most  grotesque  annoyance 
was  thrust  upon  them  in  the  form  of  a  big  Indian, 
charged  with  murder,  who  played  a  jew's-harp  (his 
sole  possession)  so  incessantly  that  both  Bean  and  his 
sick  friend  nearly  went  frantic.  They  begged  him  for 
pity  of  humanity  to  stop,  but  he  heeded  it  not  — 
went  right  on  twanging  over  and  over  again  snatches 
from  the  most  distracting  ragtimes  of  the  day.  They 
wanted  him  to  rest  awhile,  but  he  thanked  them  and 
said  he  was  n't  tired.  It  was  the  most  remarkable 
case  of  Indian  torture  recorded.  The  sick  man  began 
to  rave.  Bean's  madness  took  a  different '  form.  He 
snatched  the  instrument  of  torture  from  the  musical 
barbarian,  and  broke  the  tongue  out  of  it.  Then  the 
Indian  got  mad.  He  came  at  Bean  with  a  rush. 
Both  were  ironed,  Ellis  having  on  two  pair  of  the 
impediments  ;  but  he  laid  the  musician  low.  The  sick 
friend  died  three  days  later. 

After  three  months  they  let  Bean  out  again.  He  met 
Tony  Waters,  and  says  he  might  have  killed  him,  but 
only  challenged  him.  Waters  refused  to  fight.  Ellis 
then  went  with  a  good  stick  and  gave  him  such  a 
beating  that  it  was  several  days  before  he  was  able  to 
crawl  to  the  alcalde  and  lodge  a  complaint.  But  the 


136  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

alcalde  knew  about  the  cause  and  refused  to  order 
Bean's  arrest;  whereupon  Waters  declared  he  was  not 
given  justice,  and  on  that  was  sentenced  to  jail  for  a 
month  for  contempt. 

The  unfortunate  adventurers  had  now  been  five  years 
in  Mexico.  Their  case  had  been  laid  before  President 
Jefferson,  but  he  said  they  must  stand  the  consequences 
of  their  acts.  They  seemed  to  think  it  was  the  duty 
of  their  government  to  rescue  them,  apparently  having 
little  idea  of  the  flagrant  nature  of  their  offence. 

Bean  now  set  out  alone  to  escape,  but  was  caught 
and  again  ironed.  His  old  companions  also  were 
brought  in  and  shackled.  They  blamed  him  for  his 
rash  attempt.  But  something  was  coming.  The  Span- 
ish monarch  had  leisurely  reached  their  case  and  passed 
on  it.  In  a  few  days  two  priests  —  "  parsons,"  Bean  calls 
them  —  were  ushered  in  to  the  convicts.  "  Asked  what 
was  going  to  be  done  with  us,  they  answered  that  they 
had  come  for  us  to  confess,  if  we  wished  our  sins  to  be 
forgiven." 

It  was  now  understood  they  were  to  be  put  to 
death.  Most  of  them  confessed,  but  Bean  refused, 
and  said  he  must  have  four  or  five  days  to  recollect 
all  his  sins.  "The  parsons  advised  me  to  begin,  and 
God  would  enlighten  me,  and  help  me  to  remember 
them." 

The  question  was,  whether  they  were  all  to  be  hanged. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  137 

Bean  thought  his  friend  Tony  Waters  deserved  it,  anyhow, 
"  being  the  greatest  villain  of  the  lot.""  But  the  next  day 
the  priests  came  again,  and  with  them  a  colonel  in  full 
uniform,  who  read  the  King's  order.  It  was  that  every 
fifth  man  was  to  be  hanged  for  firing  on  the  King's  troops. 
But  in  view  of  there  now  being  only  nine  of  them,  the 
local  magistrate  had  decided  that  a  faithful  execution 
of  the  sentence  required  that  only  one  need  die. 

Into  the  prison  were  brought  a  drum,  a  tumbler,  and 
a  set  of  dice.  They  were  now  to  gamble  for  their  lives. 
The  question  of  which  one  was  to  die  was  to  be  decided 
by  the  dice.  These  they  threw  from  the  tumbler  upon 
the  drumhead.  The  oldest  threw  first.  Bean,  being  the 
youngest,  threw  last.  He  who  threw  the  lowest  lost. 
"  And  so  we  went  up,  one  by  one,  to  cast  the  awful  throw 
of  life  or  death  !  "  The  man  who  threw  next  to  Bean  got 
four,  the  lowest.  Bean  threw  five. 

After  the  execution  Bean  and  four  others  were  sent  to 
Acapulco,  on  the  west  sea-coast.  They  were  considered 
a  dangerous  lot.  Each  was  double-shackled,  and  a  guard 
of  twenty-five  soldiers  conducted  them.  Bean  says  the 
officer  in  command  gave  them  easy-riding  horses.  They 
went  by  the  City  of  Mexico,  nine  hundred  miles,  as  he 
counted  it,  from  Chihuahua.  The  people  in  the  towns 
came  as  usual  to  see  them.  At  Salamanca  they  "  halted 
in  a  large  square,  enclosed  by  high  walls  and  houses,"  so 
that  the  prisoners  were  given  much  liberty. 


138  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Here  the  doughty  young  Tennesseean  made  his  first 
heart  conquest  in  Mexico,  at  least  the  first  he  tells  us 
about.  This  romance  at  Salamanca  is  related  very  cir- 
cumstantially by  the  hero,  and  carries  the  heartbeat  of 
tropical  climes.  A  young  woman,  beautiful  and  sympa- 
thetic, fell  into  conversation  with  Bean,  and,  becoming 
much  impressed  with  his  appearance  and  qualities,  slyly 
asked  him  if  he  did  not  wish  to  escape.  Bean  replied 
sadly  that  it  was  impossible,  and  that  he  was  resigned  to 
his  fate. 

His  words  and  manner  of  speaking  went  far,  —  he  could 
hardly  have  answered  her  more  effectively  to  heighten  her 
interest  in  him.  She  declared  she  could  free  him,  and 
went  away.  Upon  inquiry  Bean  learned  that  she  was 
Senora  Maria  Baldonada,  and  that  she  had  recently  been 
married  to  a  very  rich  man  much  older  than  herself. 
Perhaps  she,  too,  desired  to  escape. 

Bean  was  thinking  hard  when  he  lay  down  on  his 
mat  in  a  corner  of  the  great  yard,  while  yet,  long  after 
dark,  the  people  kept  coming  and  going,  laughing  and 
singing,  —  when  would  these  careless  and  indolent  people 
sleep?  Presently  the  senora  came  again,  in  company  with 
a  very  dark  man  in  a  long  cloak.  He  might  have  been 
either  a  professional  patriot  or  a  pirate.  The  senora 
whispered  to  Ellis  that  this  man  had  brought  files  to  cut 
off  his  irons,  and  that  he  should  follow  him  into  a  stable 
for  the  purpose.  After  his  irons  were  off,  she  said,  a  man 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  139 

on  top  of  the  wall  would  drop  him  a  rope,  pull  him  up 
to  the  top,  and  then  conduct  him  to  where  she  would  be 
waiting. 

The  beautiful  Maria  had  been  busy.  The  brigandish 
fellow  stood  silently  by,  his  arms  folded,  his  files  and  deadly 
instruments  under  his  long  cloak.  One  would  have  sup- 
posed that  so  daring  a  scamp  as  Bean  would  have  sprung 
to  the  chance,  but  he  declined  the  proffered  aid.  He  says 
it  was  because  his  companions  would  have  been  made  to 
suffer  extra  hardships  had  he  escaped,  and  so  replied  to 
Seiiora  Maria.  She  suggested  that  he  should  take  care 
of  himself  and  let  God  take  care  of  all ;  that  she  had 
several  haciendas,  at  one  of  which  he  might  secrete  him- 
self. But  whatever  his  reason,  he  would  not  take  the 
venture. 

The  next  morning  he  visited  the  senora  at  her  house, 
giving  the  soldiers  who  guarded  him  drink-money  to 
solace  themselves  with  during  his  call.  At  this  interview 
she  told  him  she  had  been  married  against  her  desires ; 
that  she  did  not  feel  really  bound  to  a  husband  whom 
she  did  not  love,  and  proposed  again  that  he  escape  with 
her,  this  time  suggesting  bribing  the  soldiers  and  taking 
their  horses.  She  was  ready  to  open  her  purse  in  the 
execution  of  her  plans  —  she  had  already  done  that. 
She  would  go  and  spend  her  life  with  him  in  his  own 
country,  trusting  to  his  honor  not  to  desert  her  for 
another- 


140  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Bean  hesitated  —  and  the  guard  returned.  And  he 
relates  with  a  sigh,  "  the  soldier  helped  me  on  my  horse, 
and  I  bid  adieu  to  the  lovely  Maria  Baldonada." 

One  may  suspect  that  she  was  not  so  beautiful  as  the 
adventurer  would  have  us  believe,  or  that,  as  he  told  her, 
he  expected  to  be  set  free  when  he  reached  Mexico,  and 
did  not  feel  like  taking  desperate  chances.  The  senora 
showed  sadness  at  his  refusal,  and  said  that  when  he  was 
disappointed  in  his  expectations  he  would  remember  her. 
Bean  admits  that  during  the  next  three  years  he  often 
regretted  he  had  not  accepted  her  proposition. 

Before  leaving  his  inamorata  she  had  given  him  a  pack- 
age and  a  letter,  asking  him  to  put  them  in  his  pocket 
and  not  to  look  at  them  till  the  end  of  the  day's  journey. 
They  stopped  that  night  at  Arcos,  and  he  impatiently 
opened  them.  He  says  that  in  the  package  he  "found 
three  joes  in  small  gold  pieces."  He  gives  a  copy  of 
the  letter,  which  is  really  touching  in  its  expressions, 
and  could  hardly  have  been  written  by  one  devoid  of 
education  or  refinement.  She  wrote  that  she  was  not 
ashamed  to  own  that  the  love  she  felt  for  him  was 
more  than  she  could  bear.  "Perhaps,"  she  continued, 
"you  may  think  a  woman  demented  who  could  love  one 
in  your  situation,  bound  in  irons.  When  I  first  saw  you 
I  was  touched  with  compassion ;  then  I  found  my  heart 
distressed ;  and  when  I  came  to  examine  myself,  I  found 
it  to  be  love."" 


THE  GLORY  SEEKERS  141 

This  really  worked  upon  Ellis's  feelings.  He  acknowl- 
edges he  was  unhappy,  and  could  not  pass  the  time  as 
usual.  But  there  were  other  things  to  concern  him  when 
he  arrived  at  Mexico,  and  was  cast  into  a  prison  yard 
with  three  hundred  other  convicts,  mostly  Indians  and 
negroes. 


CHAPTER  VI 


Continuation  of  Ellis  Bean's  Experiences  in  Captivity — Becomes  a 
Mexican  Insurrectionist —  War  and  Romance. 

FTER  a  time  the 
prisoners  were  sent 
along  to  Acapulco, 
which  seaport  Bean 
described  as  having 
a  strong  fortifica- 
tion, the  castle  being 
of  stone,  the  walls 
twelve  feet  thick,  de- 
fended by  a  hundred 
guns  of  large  cali- 
bre. Bean,  marked 
as  extra-dangerous, 
—  although  he  mod- 
estly refrained  from 
telling  what  he  had  done  to  merit  that  distinction  —  was 
segregated  in  a  cell,  small  and  tight  and  dismal,  between 
the  thickest  walls.  Light  came  economically  through 
a  small  window,  or  hole,  at  one  end,  which  was  cross- 
barred.  In  the  door  was  an  opening  three  inches  square. 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  143 

He  would  have  preferred  less  privacy,  but  all  his 
scheming  to  reduce  it  was  long  in  vain.  He  became  neigh- 
borly with  the  guard  who,  for  a  dollar,  bought  him  a  small 
knife ;  but  it  did  him  little  good  here.  His  joyous  occu- 
pation of  seeing  the  country  seemed  to  have  ended  for  all 
time  in  this  sarcophagus  three  thousand  miles  from  home. 
He  might  as  hopefully  have  been  a  toad  in  a  well. 

It  was  here  that  he  found  his  pet  lizard,  about  which 
he  tells  a  story  that  matches  some  of  Baron  Trenck's.  It 
was  what  the  Spaniards  called  a  quija,  so  Ellis  stated, 
some  nine  or  ten  inches  long,  about  three  inches  thick, 
and  as  white  as  snow.  It  had  a  good  singing  voice  and, 
according  to  the  memoir,  "  if  you  hold  it  between  you 
and  the  light,  you  may  see  the  bones  in  its  limbs  and 
body." 

Watching  the  little  visitor,  Bean  saw  that  it  was  trying 
to  catch  flies.  He  did  not  know  whether  or  not  it  was 
poisonous,  but  in  his  painful  desolation  he  warmed  toward 
the  little  reptile,  and  set  about  trying  to  feed  it.  This 
opened  up  a  diversion.  He  caught  flies,  impaled  them 
on  a  straw  from  the  mat,  and,  slipping  them  toward  the 
shy  creature,  he  at  length  got  it  to  take  them.  Confi- 
dence was  followed  by  friendly  intimacy,  the  lizard  taking 
flies  from  the  hand.  "  Every  morning  as  he  came  down 
the  wall  he  would  sing  like  a  frog,  giving  me  notice  of 
his  coming.  In  about  a  week  he  was  so  gentle  he  did 
not  leave  me  at  night,  but  stayed  with  me  all  the  time. 


144  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

When  the  guard  opened  the  door  he  would  get  frightened, 
and  hide  under  my  blanket.  I  found  that  he  was  sin- 
cerely my  friend.  In  fact,  he  was  my  only  companion  and 
amusement." 

After  eleven  months  Bean  found  that  some  of  his  com- 
pany had  sickened,  and  were  in  the  hospital.  Feeling 
that  any  change  was  desirable,  he  complained  of  being  ill, 
and  asked  to  be  sent  to  the  cure-house,  too.  The  prison 
doctor  was  sent  for.  Upon  hearing  him  coming,  Bean 
struck  his  elbows  against  the  wall,  which  raised  his  pulse 
so  high  the  medic  thought  he  had  a  fever.  So  an  order 
was  made,  and  a  muscular  peon  carried  him  on  his  back 
half  a  mile  to  the  hospital.  Evidently  they  suspected 
him,  for,  although  he  had  on  both  manacles  and  shackles, 
they  added  to  his  security  by  placing  his  legs  in  stocks 
also.  Or  perhaps  it  was  a  way  they  had  of  treating  fever 
—  not  much  more  absurd  than  some  remedies  in  general 
use  in  that  day. 

As  he  was  now  fixed,  Bean  could  hardly  turn ;  and  he 
tells  that  thousands  of  chinches  took  mean  advantage  of 
it,  to  feed  upon  him  day  and  night.  They  had  no  regular 
hours  for  meals — they  just  kept  on  biting.  Now  this 
was  such  unusual  hospital  treatment  that  Ellis  got  well 
the  next  day  and  begged  to  be  taken  back  to  his  cell. 
But  they  were  not  so  ready  to  attend  to  his  wishes  ;  and 
it  was  peculiarly  fortunate,  for  in  the  evening  he  was 
taken  with  a  violent  fever,  real  enough.  Bean's  simple 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  145 

explanation  was  that  it  was  caused  by  being  removed  from 
a  place  where  there  was  no  air  to  one  where  there  was  too 
much.  But  might  not  there  have  been  something  in  the 
transmission  of  fever  germs  by  the  chinches  ? 

He  was  very  ill  twenty  days  before  he  began  to  recover. 
It  was  a  time  of  great  sickness  in  the  town.  The  hospital 
was  crowded.  A  suffering  man  was  laid  on  each  side  of 
him.  One  died  in  about  three  hours.  Next  morning  two 
more  were  dead  close  by.  Yet  he  improved.  As  he 
recuperated  he  developed  an  appetite  that  was  a  scandal. 
The  hospital  heads  were  shocked,  and  sought  to  alleviate 
it  by  administering  two  ounces  of  bread  and  some  gruel  in 
the  morning,  and  the  head  of  a  fowl  and  some  soup  for 
dinner.  He  still  had  some  money,  but  was  not  permitted 
to  buy  anything.  As  he  was  half-starved  he  growled,  and 
asked  the  priest  who  served  him  why  it  was  he  always 
got  the  head  and  neck  of  the  chicken,  and  no  other  part. 
The  priest  answered  him  curtly,  —  he  declares  profanely,  — 
which  must  have  shocked  Bean,  who  thereupon  slammed 
the  plate  at  the  holy  father.  It  cut  his  tonsured  pate 
open,  and  the  outraged  patient  followed  it  up  with  the 
water-pot,  which  fortunately  missed  its  shining  mark. 

This  violent  action  not  only  skinned  the  convalescent's 
ankles  badly  against  the  shackles,  but  entirely  exhausted 
him.  It  also  greatly  enhanced  his  previous  reputation 
of  a  bad  man.  So  they  locked  the  ravenous  invalid's 
head  in  a  wooden  stock  for  fifteen  days,  keeping  him 

10 


146  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

practically  in  one  position  all  of  that  time.  The  chinches 
now  fairly  revelled  on  him.  What  a  human  being  may 
suffer  under  such  conditions  is  too  excruciating  to  dwell 
upon.  Bean  says  frankly  that  he  regretted  not  having 
killed  the  priest,  as  in  that  event  they  would  have  taken 
his  life,  and  thus  put  an  end  to  his  tortures. 

But  when  they  released  him  from  the  stock  they  also 
took  off  his  shackles  and  replaced  them  with  a  chain  of 
about  fifteen  pounds'*  weight  fastened  to  each  ankle.  Yet, 
by  wrapping  them  around  his  waist,  he  could  manage  very 
well. 

On  the  road  back  to  the  castle  —  he  now  being  "  well " 
—  under  two  guards,  the  desire  to  try  an  escape  was  irre- 
sistible. He  had  no  further  longing  for  conquest,  he  was 
not  even  enthusiastic  about  seeing  more  of  the  country. 
He  wanted  merely  to  go  home.  So  he  invited  his  guards 
to  enter  a  garden  "  where  a  woman  sold  a  kind  of  small- 
beer.""  Bean  politely  ordered  some  for  his  keepers.  Then 
he  set  the  mugs  flowing  again.  After  which  he  conceived 
an  intense  admiration  for  the  fragrant  pinks  growing  in 
the  garden,  as  large  as  roses.  Long  quaffing  of  the 
small-beer  made  the  soldiers  admire  the  pinks,  also. 
Ellis  offered  to  buy  one  of  them  a  bunch  if  he  would 
come  out  in  the  garden.  The  soldier  complied.  But  just 
as  the  fellow  was  about  to  accept  the  posy,  Bean  caught 
him  by  the  neck  with  one  hand  and  with  the  other 
placed  a  knife  at  his  throat  —  the  knife  he  had  induced 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  147 

the  guard  at  the  castle  to  buy  for  him  for  domestic 
purposes. 

"  Give  up  your  sword  or  I  '11  kill  you ! " 

The  order  was  so  stern  the  soldier  winced.  Feeling 
that  he  was  in  desperate  hands  he  meekly  inquired 
what  was  the  meaning. 

"  I'm  going  on  a  journey,"  said  Ellis,  "  and  need  a 
sabre  like  that.  I  need  a  man,  too.  Come  with  me 
and  save  your  neck.  Otherwise  they  11  hang  you  for 
losing  me." 

This  was  logical.  Seeing  that  he  had  sadly  erred, 
and  fearing  the  consequences,  the  guard  consented. 
Still,  Bean  hardly  dared  trust  him.  He  sent  him  with 
a  dollar  to  buy  bread  at  a  near-by  shop,  and  he  not 
returning  as  quickly  as  he  might,  Ellis  struck  off  alone. 
In  a  few  minutes  he  was  in  the  woods.  He  managed 
to  cut  off  his  chains  with  a  steel  he  had  picked  up,  one 
used  to  strike  fire.  And  now  he  was  free  to  drink  in 
the  delights  of  liberty  amid  sweet-smelling  blossoms  and 
beautiful  foliage  musical  with  the  songs  of  brilliant- 
plumaged  birds.  He  says  he  was  not  weak,  though 
he  had  been  so  long  ill  and  starved,  but  felt  strong 
and  happy  in  the  ineffable  sense  of  liberty. 

At  night  he  ventured  to  a  small  shop  and  bought 
bread,  bacon,  and  cheese,  and  a  gourd  of  native  brandy. 
Passing  another  shop  he  heard  two  men  talking.  They 
were  speaking  English  —  with  a  brogue.  Bean  looked 


148  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

cautiously  in,  then  entered.  The  men  he  had  heard 
proved  to  be  two  Irish  sailors  from  a  privateer  in  port 
that  day  from  Lima.  He  briefly  told  them  his  situa- 
tion, and  they  took  him  to  the  captain  on  the  brig. 
Rigged  in  sailor's  clothes  he  went  on  board  like  a  jolly 
tar,  thinking  he  was  safe.  In  truth,  he  ought  to  have 
been,  for  they  took  the  precaution  to  thwart  the  search 
for  him  which  they  suspected  would  be  made.  The 
head  of  a  great  water-pipe  was  broken  in,  and  Bean 
took  up  his  abode  in  it  against  the  hour  of  sailing. 

Sure  enough,  a  patrol  came  to  search,  but  not  finding 
him  returned  to  shore.  Now  all  was  well,  with  the  vessel 
to  sail  in  two  hours,  —  but  what  then  ?  Why,  a  grumpy 
Portuguese  cook  aboard,  a  greasy  old  tar-stew,  having  a 
grudge  against  the  sailors  who  befriended  the  stowaway, 
quietly  went  ashore  and  reported  the  man  in  the  water- 
pipe. 

Down  came  the  patrol  again  stronger  than  before. 
They  rolled  out  the  pipe,  dragged  Bean  out,  tied  him 
like  a  package  for  a  long  shipment,  and  he  might  as 
well  have  been  a  sack  of  beans,  considering  the  way 
they  threw  him  down  into  the  lighter.  He  was  badly 
bruised,  and  heartsick  beyond  thinking.  In  an  hour 
they  had  him  back  in  his  narrow  cell  in  the  grim 
castle,  and  in  double  irons.  It  was  like  waking  up  in 
his  stone  coffin  after  a  delectable  dream  of  freedom, 
and  green  woods,  and  merry  friends !  Like  a  true 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  149 

philosopher,  however,  he  consoled  himself  with  the 
thought  that  he  had  enjoyed  a  few  hours  of  life  and 
happiness,  rather  than  allow  his  spirits  to  darken  over 
a  renewal  of  his  misery. 

When  he  again  became  accustomed  to  the  quarter- 
light  he  found  there  to  greet  him,  his  little  friend,  the 
lizard,  with  which  he  divided  his  boiled  beef  once  a  day. 
Ellis  Bean  was  not  all  bad,  by  a  good  deal.  His 
appreciation  of  nature  and  friendship  with  dumb  things 
answer  for  that.  He  named  his  white,  translucent  lizard 
"  Bill,"  took  it  into  his  pallet,  and  played  with  it.  One 
day  a  good  old  priest  came  to  see  the  lizard,  saying  he 
had  heard  about  it  from  the  watch ;  and  when  he 
observed  the  intimacy  existing  between  the  prisoner 
and  the  reptile,  remarked  that  it  was  in  the  power  of 
man  to  do  anything  if  he  would  but  turn  his  attention 
to  it.  And  he  gave  Bean  some  small  silver. 

One  day  Bean  heard  a  woman  singing.  He  squeezed 
up  to  the  grated  hole  in  the  wall,  so  as  to  see  her. 
For  some  time  before  he  had  employed  his  time  at  twist- 
ing a  cord  out  of  the  palmetto  of  his  mat,  making  one 
several  yards  long.  On  seeing  the  woman,  he  called 
softly.  She  could  see  no  one.  He  called  again,  and 
told  her  where  he  was.  She  was  very,  very  sorry  for 
him,  probracito!  Would  she  buy  him  some  brandy, 
if  he  would  throw  her  the  money?  That  she  would, 
in  pity.  He  flung  out  both  silver  and  string,  and  then 


150  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

sat  like  a  fisherman  waiting  for  a  bite  —  or  rather,  for 
a  drink. 

Presently  the  kind  woman  called  to  him  to  pull, 
which  he  did  with  care,  and  hauled  in  a  bladder  of 
pulque.  It  not  being  full,  he  could  just  manage  to 
work  it  through  the  grating.  He  drank  and  lay  down. 
Soon  his  sorrows  floated  out  at  the  grimy,  grated 
window.  Then  he  drank  the  rest  of  it.  And  this  is 
the  way  the  candid  rascal  puts  himself  on  record  about 
it  to  the  rude  scandalization  of  all  total  abstainers :  "  I 
can  truly  say  that,  during  the  year  and  five  months  I 
stayed  in  this  cell  the  last  time,  the  hour  I  was  drunk 
and  unconscious  of  everything  was  the  only  happy  time 
I  saw." 

But  the  light  of  day  was  about  to  break  on  him 
again.  One  morning  when  the  inspectors  came  he 
heard  them  talking  about  blasting  rocks,  and  saying  no 
one  understood  placing  the  charges.  Bean  began  to 
explain  the  method  to  them.  Was  he  familiar  with 
the  work  ?  It  was  his  original  occupation.  It  was 
exactly  in  his  line.  Next  day,  under  direction  of  the 
Governor,  he  was  taken  out  and  set  at  the  work.  His 
shackles  were  removed  and  a  ten-foot  chain  fastened 
to  each  foot.  At  the  place  of  work  there  were  about 
forty  prisoners  employed,  with  about  twenty  soldiers 
to  guard  them. 

Bean  made  his  matches  in  a  house  near  by,  where,  of 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  151 

course,  there  was  a  woman.  And  some  way  the  women 
were  always  good  to  him.  He  bribed  this  one  to  buy  him 
twelve  knives  and  keep  them  in  her  house  till  he  needed 
them.  She  might  have  thought  he  would  require  them  at 
fuse-making,  but  when  he  got  her  to  lay  in  a  little  arsenal 
of  pistols  and  cartridges,  she  must  have  suspected  other 
objects.  But  she  said  nothing ;  and  now  Ellis  began  stir- 
ring his  fellow-prisoners  to  mutiny.  They  heeded,  and 
thought  it  would  be  well,  and  he  distributed  his  knives 
and  pistols  among  the  trustiest  of  them. 

At  a  signal  he  struck  down  his  guard  with  a  stone  on 
the  temple.  The  others  attacked  the  soldiers  each  in  his 
way.  A  panic  ensued.  The  guards  fled,  those  who  had 
not  been  disabled,  and  the  mutineers  went  in  the  opposite 
direction.  But  they  separated  badly,  Bean  making  a  run- 
ning fight  in  company  with  an  old  Spaniard,  who  was  shot 
down,  and  then  he  found  himself  alone  on  a  mountain- 
side. By  hacking  the  blades  of  his  knife  and  razor  to- 
gether he  improvised  a  saw,  with  which  he  cut  off  his 
chains.  Then  he  encountered  a  former  acquaintance,  and 
after  buying  some  food  at  a  hut  they  pushed  on  together 
toward  the  coast  with  the  hope  of  finding  a  ship. 

Ill-fortune  was  their  shadow.  Finding  themselves  sur- 
rounded they  struck  into  a  marsh  of  vines  and  tanglewood. 
For  several  days  they  beat  about  in  this  dense  under- 
growth like  foxes  before  the  hounds.  Having  been  so 
long  unaccustomed  to  walking,  Bean's  feet  soon  were 


152  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

blistered  and  swollen  so  that  he  could  not  run.  Even 
then  he  fought  till  he  was  knocked  senseless.  The  thorns 
had  made  rags  of  his  clothing,  and  had  lacerated  his  flesh. 
Faint  with  hunger,  he  was  carried  first  to  Cajucan  and 
placed  in  stocks.  From  there  he  was  soon  taken  back  to 
the  castle  at  Acapulco,  but  instead  of  being  thrown  into 
his  old  cell,  he  was  now  chained  to  a  powerful  mulatto 
and  turned  into  the  court. 

The  mulatto  was  told  to  take  care  of  the  dangerous 
white  man,  and  to  whip  him  if  necessary.  If  he  had  killed 
him  the  officials  no  doubt  would  have  felt  relieved,  and 
urged  no  heavy  penalty ;  for  that  Bean  was  giving  them 
great  trouble  is  obvious.  Well,  the  yoked  pair  in  the 
yard  of  course  pulled  unevenly.  The  mulatto,  who  Bean 
says  was  sullen  and  ugly-tempered,  jerked  his  yoke-mate 
around  rudely.  Bean  says  nothing  about  his  own  temper, 
but  we  may  imagine  what  it  was,  for  he  picked  up  part  of 
a  bull's  skull  which  had  one  horn  on  it  and  knocked  the 
dark  one  down.  Then  he  continued  to  beat  him  till  he 
cried  for  mercy.  When  he  was  rescued  by  the  guards 
the  mulatto  begged  to  be  let  loose  from  such  a  devil ; 
which  request  seemed  reasonable  and  was  granted. 

Now  they  took  Bean  and  fastened  one  of  their  great 
solid  convict- wheels  around  his  neck,  so  immense  that  he 
could  not  reach  the  rim  of  it.  Of  all  the  various  modes 
of  punishment  with  which  Bean  grew  familiar  he  says  this 
was  the  queerest,  and  not  the  least  disagreeable. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  153 

The  reputation  he  had  established  may  be  judged  by 
the  fact  that  the  Governor  of  the  castle  wrote  to  the  vice- 
roy asking  that  this  troublesome  prisoner  be  sent  to  some 
other  fort,  as  he  was  weary  of  him.  In  response  the  vice- 
roy ordered  him  transferred  to  Manila;  but  at  this  junc- 
ture affairs  took  an  entirely  new  turn. 

Another  insurrection  broke  out.  Another  revolutionist 
had  started  in  to  become  the  Washington  of  Mexico. 
This  time  it  was  Morelos,  the  ex-priest,  who  started  out 
with  five  negroes  to  free  some  millions  from  tyranny !  He 
expected  to  throw  off  the  Spanish  power  and  establish  a 
republic.  His  first  point  of  attack  was  Acapulco,  and  be- 
fore reaching  there  it  was  reported  he  had  been  joined  by 
several  hundred  men.  This  force  becoming  a  menace,  the 
Governor  of  the  fort  armed  all  the  prisoners  who  would 
promise  loyalty,  —  Bean  with  the  others.  But  no  sooner 
did  this  human  explosive  get  into  the  ranks  than  he  began 
to  preach  revolution  himself.  His  fellow-soldiers  were 
mostly  Indians  or  half-breeds.  They  asked  him  what  the 
republican  movement  meant.  He  told  them  —  such  of 
them  as  he  dared  trust  —  that  it  was  a  very  great  thing ; 
that  the  natives  all  should  join  it ;  that  it  was  the  design 
to  drive  the  Spaniards  out,  and  then  the  natives  would  be 
generals  and  colonels  and  judges,  and  all  the  riches  would 
fall  into  their  hands.  They  all  agreed  that  it  was  good, 
—  a  proper  thing;  and  promised  to  watch  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  join  the  insurrectionists. 


154  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Bean  and  six  others  were  picked  to  reconnoitre  the 
rebels.  He  fell  in  with  them,  betrayed  his  companions, 
who  were  captured,  and  the  whole  squad  was  taken  before 
Morelos.  Bean  found  that  the  chief  really  had  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  twenty  old  guns  in  bad  repair,  a 
swivel,  and  six  pounds  of  powder ;  —  but  that  was  much 
more  than  he  started  with. 

Ellis  joined  the  insurrectionists  and  at  once  began 
making  powder,  about  which  he  had  taken  pains  to 
learn  something.  He  had  women  crush  the  saltpetre 
and  sulphur  on  their  metates — grooved  stones  for  grind- 
ing corn.  After  arranging  with  Morelos,  he  returned 
to  the  Governor's  command  with  an  exciting  story  about 
how  he  had  escaped  after  being  captured  by  the  rebels. 
He  also  entertained  the  Governor  by  telling  him  that 
Morelos  had  over  one  thousand  fierce  adherents  well 
armed ;  and  also  related  some  diverting  tales  concerning 
their  prowess. 

By  this  time  Bean  had  made  about  seventy-five 
"patriots"  among  the  King's  men.  He  sent  word  to 
Morelos  of  the  true  situation  of  the  royal  army,  where  its 
artillery  of  four  pieces  was  stationed,  and  advised  him  to 
attack  that  night  with  his  whole  force.  Morelos  followed 
the  advice,  the  attack  proving  very  successful  for  him. 
The  traitors  under  the  Governor  turned  against  their  com- 
rades, and  most  of  the  latter  were  captured.  Morelos 
took  five  hundred  and  twenty-six  prisoners.  He  now  had 


JOSE  MARIA  MORELOS 
Mexican  revolutionist 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  155 

arms  and  ammunition.  Bean  was  promoted  colonel,  and 
at  once  proposed  to  storm  and  plunder  Acapulco. 

The  guns  of  the  strong  fort  at  Acapulco  covered  the 
bay,  having  been  placed  as  a  defence  against  hostile  attack 
from  that  quarter.  Apparently  the  engineers  who  built 
the  works  never  contemplated  an  insurrectionary  attack 
by  land  ;  so  now  there  was  little  to  protect  the  town  from 
assault  by  the  rebels.  Morelos  acceded  to  Bean's  proposi- 
tion, and  the  American  held  such  a  keen  grudge  against 
the  place  that  he  made  a  pretty  thorough  raid  of  it.  He 
came  out  with  a  lot  of  booty  —  some  $30,000  in  goods 
and  $8000  in  money. 

Bean  was  now  a  factor  in  the  Morelos  uprising.  From 
the  time  that  he  and  his  seven  surviving  comrades  arrived 
at  Acapulco  for  incarceration,  the  chronicle  of  the  Nolan 
expedition  narrows  to  the  recital  of  his  individual  exploits. 
The  other  members  are  hardly  again  mentioned  in  his 
memoir,  although  he  asserts  that  he  was  the  only  one 
of  the  prisoner  band  who  lived  to  return  to  the  United 
States.  The  expedition  perished  to  a  man  save  only  its 
Xenophon,  who  in  the  end  had  little  to  write  besides  the 
story  of  his  own  wanderings.  And  now  he  was  aiding  an 
attempt  at  revolution  in  the  country  against  which  he  had 
set  out  with  his  puny  designs  of  conquest. 

Bean  followed  up  his  auspicious  beginning  as  a  patriot 
warrior  by  fighting  and  winning  two  or  three  more 
engagements,  in  one  of  which  he  was  painfully  but  not 


156  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

dangerously  wounded.  In  another  he  ambushed  a  company 
of  several  hundred  royalists  which  the  Governor  of  Acapulco 
in  person  was  leading  against  the  republicans.  Nearly  the 
whole  command  was  captured,  including  the  Governor  who 
had  kept  the  now  victorious  leader  in  prison  so  long  at  the 
fort.  But  his  Excellency  was  too  badly  wounded  for  the 
American  to  gloat  over  his  captivity,  and  was  sent  back  to 
the  castle,  where  he  soon  died. 

After  several  months  more  of  campaigning  with  vary- 
ing success,  but  steady  accession  to  the  insurgent  force  as 
there  was  also  steady  strengthening  of  the  royal  army,  the 
rebels  besieged  the  fort  at  Acapulco.  A  demand  of  sur- 
render, signed  by  Bean,  was  answered  by  a  letter  from 
the  commandant  offering  him  a  colonel's  commission  and 
$10,000  reward  if  he  would  desert  Morelos  and  join  the 
King's  army.  But  Bean  was  not  to  be  caught  by  any  such 
chaff;  he  knew  what  the  consequences  were  likely  to  be 
should  the  insurgents  fail,  and  besides  he  hated  the  tyrant 
cause.  So  he  returned  a  haughty  refusal,  answering  that 
the  King  had  not  money  enough  to  buy  him  or  make  him 
a  tyrant's  friend. 

About  everything  possible  on  land  having  happened  to 
the  adventurer,  he  now  prepared  to  take  to  the  water. 
Out  in  the  bay  was  a  small  island  with  stores  of  provisions 
from  which  the  fort  was  replenished.  To  take  or  destroy 
these  supplies  Bean  constructed  some  twenty  rude  boats, 
and  in  them  landed  five  hundred  of  his  men  on  the  island 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  157 

one  calm  night.  At  daylight  he  charged  the  defences 
and  took  everything.  That  day  he  fought  and  defeated 
(mainly  through  strategy)  two  schooners  sent  to  resist 
him,  one  of  which  he  disabled  and  captured.  Now,  having 
the  source  of  supply  cut  off,  the  fort  surrendered  within  a 
few  days.  Bean  had  lived  to  humble  the  royalists  and 
capture  the  stronghold  where,  an  alien  and  a  life  convict, 
he  had  suffered  so  long.  The  whimsical  wheel  of  fortune 
does  not  match  this  every  day.  This  was  Bean's  high- 
water  mark  of  glory  in  his  career  as  a  Mexican  patriot. 

In  the  memoir  we  are  following  several  leaves  are 
missing  from  the  manuscript  just  after  the  events  last 
noted ;  and  when  we  catch  the  thread  again  we  find  our 
subject  at  the  house  of  a  Mexican  planter,  whose  wife  is 
offering  him  her  daughter  in  marriage,  —  something  which 
the  young  lady  herself  very  much  encourages.  It  was  at 
the  house  of  a  royalist,  too,  and  they  must  all  have  taken  a 
fancy  to  him,  as  they  had  procured  him  a  King's  pardon. 
Just  what  he  had  been  doing  through  the  missing  leaves, 
and  how  he  came  to  be  in  this  household  feasting  on  the 
fatted  calves,  with  the  daughter  of  the  hacienda  yearning 
over  him,  must  be  imagined.  Being  so  sure  of  him,  the 
family  had  prepared  for  the  wedding,  with  priests,  visitors, 
and  the  other  accessories ;  but  the  enforced  candidate 
for  nuptial  honors  ran  away.  He  begged  his  excuses, 
and  left  the  girl  with  a  fond  kiss  (he  boldly  acknowledges 
it)  and  a  promise  to  come  back  when  the  war  was  over. 


158  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

It  is  things  like  these  in  the  rascal's  account  that  in- 
cline one  to  doubt  the  universal  loveliness  of  Mexican 
femininity  in  those  days. 

Reverses  came  to  Morelos,  and  the  hard-pressed  leader 
suggested  that  Bean  make  his  way  to  the  United  States 
and  instigate  another  campaign  for  conquest  against 
Texas,  so  as  to  divide  the  attention  of  the  royalists.  The 
citizens  of  Tehuacan  showed  their  confidence  in  the  Ameri- 
can by  raising  a  fund  of  $10,000  for  him  to  use  in  the 
proposed  enterprise.  On  the  East  coast  he  fitted  out  a 
small  schooner,  manned  her  with  a  crew  from  one  of 
Lafitte's  privateers,  —  which  means  with  a  lot  of  pirates,  — 
and  sailed  for  Louisiana. 

During  his  relations  with  Morelos,  Bean  had  become 
acquainted  with  a  young  woman  of  good  family,  related 
to  the  leader.  Her  people  had  lost  their  fortunes  in  the 
insurrection.  This  time  the  adventurer  was  not  proof 
against  Cupid's  wiles.  On  his  way  to  the  coast  to  prepare 
for  a  return  to  his  own  country,  he  visited  the  young  lady's 
family  at  their  hacienda  of  Branderrillas,  and  before  he 
departed  he  was  married  to  Senorita  Anna  Gorthas,  whose 
loveliness  and  whose  virtues  he  speaks  of  with  manifest 
emotion.  And  well  he  might,  for  her  loyalty  to  him  is  a 
tribute  to  her  noble  qualities,  while  it  is  difficult  to  com- 
prehend his  conduct  with  regard  to  her. 

While  preparing  to  leave  the  hacienda  some  days  after 
his  marriage,  he  was  surprised  by  a  troop  of  the  enemy 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  159 

and  had  to  take  sudden  flight.  He  relates  that  he  barely 
escaped,  without  coat  or  money.  They  secured  all  his 
effects  except  two  hundred  doubloons,  which  his  young 
wife  buried  in  the  sand.  It  was  many  years  before  he 
returned  to  her,  and  in  the  meanwhile  a  turn  in  political 
events  made  her  rich.  The  republican  insurgents  were 
suppressed,  Morelos  was  taken  and  shot.  The  sequestered 
estates  of  the  Gorthas  family  were  in  time  (after  Mexican 
independence  was  achieved)  restored,  and  so  finally  was 
Anna's  inheritance.  Quiet  did  not  come  to  Mexico,  but 
she  lived  in  peace  and  hope  on  her  great  hacienda,  sur- 
rounded by  her  servants  and  peon  tenants,  true  to  her 
soldier  husband. 

It  would  be  pleasanter  if  something  as  creditable  could 
be  said  for  him.  His  actions  the  next  few  years  can  be 
accounted  for  only  on  the  supposition  that  he  took  it  for 
granted  he  would  never  dare  to  return  to  Mexico. 

When  he  reached  New  Orleans  with  his  schooner  and 
pirate  sailors  he  found  that  war  was  on  again  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  Also  he  found  that 
an  old  acquaintance,  W.  C.  C.  Claiborne,  was  Governor 
of  Louisiana;  further,  he  found  another  old  Tennessee 
acquaintance  in  command  of  an  army  and  grimly  threaten- 
ing the  Louisiana  legislature  for  disloyal  sentiments. 
Bean  could  no  more  have  refrained  from  following  General 
Jackson  against  the  English  than  he  could  have  loved 
Tony  Waters.  The  English  squadron  was  approaching, 


160  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

and  he  enlisted.  However,  he  had  previously  become  con- 
vinced that  such  an  expedition  as  he  had  come  to  encour- 
age was  out  of  the  question  ;  so  now  he  was  assigned  to  the 
artillery,  and  served  a  twenty-four  pounder  at  the  battle 
of  New  Orleans.  After  the  victory  he  got  leave  from 
Jackson  to  return  to  Mexico.  Arriving  at  Vera  Cruz,  he 
gathered  about  him  a  small  company,  set  out  on  a  journey 
of  six  hundred  miles  to  join  Morelos,  and  got  to  him  with 
only  six  men.  On  learning  of  the  non-success  of  Bean's 
journey,  Morelos  determined  to  send  an  ambassador  to  the 
United  States  to  solicit  aid ;  and  with  him  Bean  returned 
to  this  country.  Soon  after  their  arrival  here  Morelos  was 
taken,  and  his  insurrection  was  at  an  end. 

Feeling  himself  an  outlaw  in  Mexico,  the  adventurer 
went  to  Natchez.  It  is  presumed  the  rod  which  his  irate 
uncle  had  laid  up  on  the  gun-rack  for  him  more  than  a 
dozen  years  before  was  now  obsolete.  There,  in  a  year  or 
two,  he  married  a  Miss  Midkiff,'  with  whom  and  her  father 
he  removed  to  Arkansas.  After  the  death  of  this  father-in- 
law  he  went  to  Texas,  where  he  lived  till  1825.  Whether 
his  American  wife  died  or  not  does  not  appear  from  the 
annals ;  but  in  the  year  mentioned  he  went  once  more  to 
Mexico,  a  republic  having  at  last  been  established  there, 
rejoined  his  faithful  Anna,  and  died  on  her  estate  in  1846. 


CHAPTER  VII 


Reuben  Kemper,  Buccaneer  —  Unlawful  Seizure  of  Baton  Rouge  District 
—  Early-Day  Terrorism —  Characters  that  have  been  Whitewashed  — 
Grotesque  Campaign  against  Mobile  District. 

FTER  the  survey  of 
the  boundary  line 
between  the  United 
States  and  the  Flor- 
idas  in  1797,  it  was 
hoped  the  prejudice 
and  ill  feeling  that 
had  been  engender- 
ed by  one  reason 
or  another  between 
the  Americans  and 
the  residents  of  the 
Spanish  possessions 
would  be  allayed. 
But  such  happy  re- 
sults were  not  realized.  The  irritation  in  the  Mississippi 
region  was  not  soothed  away  even  by  the  passing  of  Louisi- 
ana to  the  Americans,  early  in  1804. 

A  bitter  controversy  now  arose  concerning  the  Louisiana 
boundary.     The  purchase   of  that  great  Territory  from 

11 


162  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

France,  or  rather,  from  her  First  Consul,  had  not  been 
consummated  in  a  manner  to  forestall  such  disputes.  In 
all  that  has  been  written  in  the  multitude  of  memoirs  of 
those  who  happened  for  a  period  to  be  near  Napoleon, 
from  Bourrienne  to  his  last  gossipy  physician,  nothing 
gives  a  more  intimate  glimpse  into  that  unknowable  man's 
character  than  two  simple  incidents  of  this  transaction. 

Mr.  Livingston,  one  of  the  American  negotiators,  grew 
restive  under  the  slow  progress  of  the  business,  and  one 
day  hinted  to  Joseph  Bonaparte,  with  whom  he  was  on  a 
friendly  footing,  that  if  he  would  make  a  brotherly  sug- 
gestion to  the  First  Consul  as  to  certain  matters  pending, 
it  would  hasten  a  conclusion. 

"I  will  gladly  do  so,"  Joseph  replied  in  substance. 
"  We  are  good  brothers,  and  I  may  always  talk  with  him. 
But  I  promise  no  more.  My  brother  has  no  counsellors 
—  he  is  his  own  adviser." 

And  finally,  when  the  deal  was  closed  and  the  treaty 
drawn  up,  Marbois,  who  had  really  conducted  the  negoti- 
ation for  France,  or  her  ruler,  asked  the  latter  if  he  had 
observed  in  the  document  a  lack  of  definite  boundary  de- 
scriptions of  the  territory  conveyed  to  the  United  States. 

"  No,"  replied  Napoleon,  "  but  if  there  is  no  obscurity 
about  them  already  there,  you  had  better  put  one  in." 

It  flashed  on  his  mind  that  boundary  complications 
might  involve  his  friendly  purchaser  in  trouble  with  Spain 
and  England,  who  had  provinces  adjoining  Louisiana; 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  163 

and,  of  course,  a  row  between  those  powers  would  most 
likely  prove  to  his  own  advantage. 

In  regard  to  Louisiana  and  Napoleon,  it  was  not  a  few 
pigmies  alone  who  in  America  dreamed  of  establishing  a 
great  empire  over  the  Southwestern  part  of  this  continent. 
With  the  retrocession  of  the  province  by  Spain  to  France 
it  was  expected  by  many  that  there  was  the  beginning  of 
great  things.  That  Napoleon  pondered  deeply  over  the 
possibilities  of  empire  in  the  new  world,  there  is  much 
good  reason  for  believing.  It  is  asserted  that  he  had 
chosen  Bernadotte  as  the  instrument  well  adapted  to 
working  out  his  lofty  designs.  He  was  aware  of  Berna- 
dotte's  great  abilities,  and  correspondingly  jealous  of  his 
exercise  of  them  in  France.  If  they  could  be  directed  to 
creating  a  nation  in  America  that  would  at  once  be  de- 
pendent on  and  a  support  to  France,  a  triple  purpose 
would  be  subserved. 

Pickett  says  in  his  history  that  Napoleon  probably  had 
in  view  the  ultimate  conquest  of  a  portion  of  the  United 
States,  to  be  added  to  Louisiana,  and  that  he  was  con- 
sidering plans  of  sending  a  large  army  across  the  ocean  for 
that  service.  Of  course,  Napoleon  saw  visions;  he  may 
have  seen  this  kind,  and  he  may  not.  But  it  is  an  exceed- 
ingly interesting  problem  to  consider  what  might  have 
transpired  on  this  continent,  in  that  marvellous  era  between 
1800  and  1814,  with  Bernadotte1s  military  and  administra- 
tive genius  at  work  moulding  an  empire  out  of  the  great 


164  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Southwest  under  the  guardianship  of  Napoleon,  and 
neither  of  them  being  at  all  reverential  toward  the  terri- 
torial rights  of  the  young  American  republic.  Whether 
or  not  Napoleon  had  any  such  dreams,  it  can  unhesitatingly 
be  said  that  he  had  far  more  foolish  ones. 

The  territory  under  hot  dispute  immediately  after  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  was  that  lying  between  the  thirty-first 
degree  of  latitude  on  the  North,  Bayou  Iberville  on  the 
South,  the  Mississippi  River  on  the  West,  and  Pearl  River 
on  the  East.  This  had  been  organized  by  Spain  into  a 
District,  called  the  Government  of  Baton  Rouge,  and 
placed  under  command  of  Don  Carlos  de  Grandpre.  It 
comprised  parts  of  Baton  Rouge,  Mancha,  Thompson's 
Creek,  and  Bayou  Sara. 

A  controversy  also  arose  about  "Mobile  District," 
between  Pearl  and  Perdido  Rivers  and  the  Gulf.  The 
United  States  claimed  these  two  districts  with  her  deed  of 
Louisiana,  arguing  that  Napoleon  transferred  everything 
he  got  from  Spain ;  and  surely  he  got  those  from  Spain. 
But  Spain  would  not  admit  it.  She  countered  with  the 
assertion  that  just  before  the  close  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution she  herself  became  engaged  in  war  with  England ; 
that  she  took  by  conquest  the  "Mobile  District,"  then 
part  of  West  Florida ;  that  in  1783  Great  Britain  con- 
firmed this  by  treaty,  and  that  the  territory  had  always 
been  considered  a  part  of  West  Florida,  thus  denying 
that  Napoleon  could  make  any  cession  of  it. 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  165 

Now  it  all  depended  upon  whether  the  districts  had 
been  parts  of  Louisiana  or  West  Florida ;  and  it  looked 
as  though  one  nation's  claim  on  this  point  was  as  good  as 
another's.  The  people  of  Mississippi,  bordering  on  the 
disputed  parcels,  stoutly  maintained  that  the  contention 
of  their  country  was  valid ;  the  lands  were  rich,  and  they 
wanted  them  for  themselves.  As  a  fact,  that  had  more  to 
do  with  convincing  them  of  the  justice  of  the  American 
claim  than  any  analysis  of  the  conditions. 

These  disputed  tracts  are  thus  referred  to  here  be- 
cause connected  with  them  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
episodes,  as  it  is  distinctly  one  of  the  most  discreditable, 
in  the  early  history  of  our  country ;  an  episode  too  often 
condoned  by  writers  and  politicians,  and  too  readily  for- 
gotten by  the  people.  And  further,  because  it  is  necessary 
in  giving  a  sketch  of  the  buccaneer  Reuben  Kemper,  whose 
chief  exploits  are  noted  in  their  annals. 

Many  residents  of  Mississippi  settled  "  over  the  line  "  in 
Baton  Rouge,  while  the  boundary  line  dispute  was  under 
negotiation  for  settlement  by  the  two  governments.  Others 
moved  near  the  line  ready  to  cross.  Among  the  latter 
were  Reuben,  Nathan,  and  Samuel  Kemper.  They  were 
sons  of  a  Baptist  preacher,  natives  of  Virginia,  and  for 
a  while  had  lived  with  their  father  in  Ohio.  The  family 
came  to  Mississippi  in  1803,  and  established  itself  near 
Pinckneyville. 

The    brothers   were    boisterous    frontiersmen,   Reuben 


166  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

being  of  huge  frame,  loud  voice,  and  an  address  that 
passed  for  affability.  Among  his  accomplishments,  be- 
sides those  of  knife  and  gun,  was  his  profanity,  which  the 
men  of  his  school  pronounced  unusually  "  eloquent.""  He 
and  his  brothers  are  reported  in  some  accounts  to  have 
acquired  land  grants  from  Spain  in  the  Baton  Rouge 
District,  which  they  knew  would  be  very  valuable  if  the 
country  were  opened  to  Americans.  It  was  a  desire  to 
speculate  on  the  grants  of  land  given  them  for  their  own 
occupancy  under  Spanish  laws  and  restrictions,  that  they 
began  scheming  to  dispossess  the  Spaniards. 

However,  there  is  doubt  if  they  had  even  so  much  of  an 
excuse  for  their  threatened  raid.  Governor  Grandpre 
heard  so  much  about  their  boasts  and  menaces  that  he 
foolishly  determined  to  arrest  and  lock  them  up.  He  sent 
eight  hired  kidnappers  to  the  house  of  Nathan  Kemper 
at  twelve  o'clock  on  the  night  of  September  3,  1805. 
Nathan's  residence  was  on  the  American  side  of  the  line. 
The  kidnappers  employed  were  citizens  of  Mississippi  Ter- 
ritory. Their  names  were  Ritchie,  Kneeland,  Butler, 
Bomer,  McDermott,  and  Flowers,  with  two  Hortons. 
These  men  took  along  seven  negroes,  and  the  party  was 
armed  with  guns,  clubs,  and  ropes. 

Reuben  was  sleeping  at  his  brother's  house,  when  the 
door  was  quietly  forced.  The  posse  entered  the  room  in 
which  he  lay,  dragged  him  from  his  bed,  beat  him  with 
clubs,  and  then  bound  him.  They  went  through  the 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  167 

same  ceremony  with  Nathan.  His  wife  ventured  to  inter- 
fere, and  was  threatened  with  death.  She  was  struck  in 
the  scuffle.  The  brothers  were  severely  used.  They 
begged  to  know  what  they  had  done  to  merit  such  harsh 
treatment. 

"  You  have  ruined  the  Spanish  country ! "  was  the  only 
answer  returned  by  the  captors. 

Reuben  and  his  brother  were  gagged,  lines  were  tied 
around  their  necks,  and  they  were  then  made  to  run  before 
the  horses  which  the  kidnappers  rode,  to  within  the  Spanish 
lines.  At  the  same  hour  another  party  had  visited  the 
tavern  kept  by  Samuel  Kemper  at  Pinckneyville ;  they 
beat,  gagged,  and  pinioned  him,  and  carried  him  off  in 
the  same  way.  Running  by  the  side  of  the  horses,  Sam 
fell,  having  been  unable  to  keep  up,  and  was  dragged 
about  a  hundred  yards  by  the  rope  around  his  neck.  All 
three  were  delivered  to  Captain  Solomon  Alston,  in  the 
service  of  the  Spanish  governor,  who  took  them  to  Tunica 
Landing,  and  placed  them  in  a  boat  under  guard  for 
Baton  Rouge. 

This  was  a  barbarous  proceeding,  to  be  sure  —  similar 
to  what  the  victims  had  been  threatening  against  the 
Spaniards.  But  the  cruel  game  had  only  begun. 

A  Doctor  Towles,  visiting  a  patient  early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  raid,  heard  of  it.  He  galloped  his  horse  to 
Point  Coupee  and  informed  Lieutenant  Wilson,  the 
American  commandant  there,  of  the  outrage.  Wilson  got 


168  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

under  motion  at  once  with  a  squad  of  soldiers  and  rescued 
the  Kempers,  also  capturing  their  Spanish  guard.  The 
latter  had  not  been  active  in  the  raid.  They  were  sent 
to  the  town  of  Washington  together  with  the  Kempers. 
The  case  was  heard  by  a  Judge  Rodney,  and  all  parties 
were  discharged. 

The  Kempers  now  were  furious  and  vengeful.  They  set 
to  work  among  their  kindred  spirits  and  got  together  a 
company,  pledged  to  the  enterprise  of  expelling  the  Span- 
ish inhabitants  from  the  District  and  subverting  the 
Government  of  Baton  Rouge.  Such  a  movement  had 
been  contemplated.  Revenge  now  forced  it.  They  sent 
no  memorial  to  the  United  States  government,  not  even 
to  the  Governor  of  Mississippi.  They  were  "  the  people," 
and  backed  by  the  people;  styled  themselves  "patriots,"" 
apparently  for  the  reason  that  they  were  bent  on  deserting 
the  country  of  which  they  were  lawful  citizens  and  enter- 
ing one  in  which,  so  far  as  their  knowledge  and  authority 
went,  they  were  interlopers,  to  dispossess  the  people 
who,  so  far  as  they  could  say,  were  the  rightful  owners 
of  it. 

They  gathered  a  large  crowd,  and  organized  at  St. 
Francis  for  their  predatory  movement.  They  elected  their 
officers,  issued  arms,  ammunition,  and  other  outfits.  All 
being  ready,  they  marched  down  on  Baton  Rouge  and  took 
the  place  by  surprise.  That  is,  they  made  a  murderous 
assault  on  the  unsuspecting  inhabitants,  killed  several  of 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  169 

them,  including  Louis  Grandpre,  son  of  the  Governor, 
who  with  a  few  crippled  veterans  occupied  the  fort,  and 
drove  the  others  from  their  homes  and  lands. 

Just  how  many  were  murdered  by  the  onslaught  of  the 
American  "  patriots  "  the  accounts  do  not  specify  ;  but  the 
invaders  chased  the  wretched  survivors  clear  to  Pensacola, 
seized  the  military  post,  and  set  up  their  own  authority. 
But  they  were  not  yet  satisfied.  Mr.  Pickett  observes  : 

"  As  the  Americans  at  this  period,  and  for  a  long  time 
previously,  were  fruitful  in  plans  to  form  governments 
independent  of  the  Union,  so  the  '  patriots,'  many  of  whom 
were  old  Spanish  subjects,  now  resolved  to  have  one  of 
their  own.  A  convention  assembled  which  adopted  a 
declaration  of  independence  very  similar  in  tone  and  senti- 
ment to  the  one  drawn  by  Thomas  Jefferson.  They  de- 
clared their  right  and  intention  to  form  treaties  and  to 
establish  commerce  with  foreign  nations." 

Apparently,  they  had  renounced  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  and  spurned  the  Declaration  of  1776. 

With  the  spirit  of  ruthless  conquerors,  the  creators  of 
this  new  republic  immediately  began  preparations  to  seize 
other  Spanish  territory,  or  at  least,  territory  claimed  by 
Spain,  and  the  right  to  which  was  then  a  question  in 
process  of  amicable  adjustment  between  that  government 
and  their  own.  They  proposed  to  capture  and  appropri- 
ate the  District  of  Mobile.  Rather  strange,  it  seems  at 
this  day,  and  one  reads  with  the  expectation  that  the 


170  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Federal  government  would  soon  put  a  heavy  hand  on 
such  wholesale  outlawry  against  a  friendly  neighbor  —  and 
expects  in  vain.  But  our  nation  was  then  young. 

However,  the  first  thing  Reuben  Kemper  did  was  to 
wreak  vengeance  on  such  of  his  kidnappers  as  he  could 
find.  It  will  be  observed  from  their  names,  given  on  a 
previous  page,  that  the  offenders  were  not  Spaniards. 
Indeed,  it  is  doubtful  if  they  were  even  Spanish  subjects. 
They,  or  at  least  some  of  them,  it  is  reasonable  to  be- 
lieve, had  come  from  the  same  part  of  Mississippi  as  the 
Kempers.  Yet  they  had  done  the  miserable  work  of  the 
short-sighted  Spanish  governor. 

A  recital  of  the  revolting  details  of  the  punishments 
inflicted  upon  those  miserable  men  is  hardly  pardonable, 
and  is  indulged  only  to  the  extent  and  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  the  fierce  character  of  Reuben  Kemper,  a  man 
whose  lawlessness  has  found  respectable  apologists  —  who 
has  even  been  lauded,  like  many  others  of  his  brutal  breed, 
as  a  gallant  knight  of  the  frontier. 

The  first  one  captured  was  Kneeland.  He  was  taken 
by  Reuben  and  Samuel  Kemper  who,  with  the  aid  of  hired 
assistants,  tied  him  to  a  large  tree,  his  arms  pinioned 
around  it.  They  then  gave  him  one  hundred  lashes  on 
the  bare  back.  That  was  for  themselves.  Resting  a 
minute,  they  resumed  their  work  of  vengeance  and  gave 
him  one  hundred  additional  lashes  for  their  brother 
Nathan,  who  for  some  cause  was  denied  the  privilege  of 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  171 

partaking  in  the  exercises.  This,  by  the  way,  was  the 
process  originally  known  as  lynching ;  in  its  early  admin- 
istration the  term  did  not  imply  the  death  penalty,  —  a 
fact  made  clear  in  the  border-time  chronicles. 

It  is  not  stated  in  the  original  accounts  of  this  affair 
whether  the  victim  was  still  conscious  after  receiving  the 
two  hundred  lashes,  or  able  to  walk ;  but  whether  he  was 
or  not,  his  torture  was  not  yet  complete.  The  unmerciful 
Kempers  cut  off  both  his  ears  with  a  dull  knife,  and  then 
left  him,  to  live  if  he  could.  And  he  did  live.  It  was  an 
act,  this  awful  wreaking  of  vengeance,  which  shows  the 
quality  of  hatred  frequently  engendered  among  the  des- 
perate citizens  who  predominated  among  the  pioneers  of 
the  Southwest.  Those  amputated  ears  were  long  preserved 
in  alcohol  "and  hung  up  by  one  of  the  Kempers  in  his 
parlor."  After  settling  with  Kneeland  they  went  after 
one  of  the  Hortons,  caught  him,  and  lashed  him  after  the 
approved  method  u  as  long  as  he  could  take  it  and  live." 
Then  they  looked  up  Bonier,  found  him  in  the  court-room 
at  Fort  Adams  while  court  was  in  session,  took  him  from 
under  the  nose  of  the  judge,  dragged  him  out,  and  flayed 
him  as  vigorously  as  they  had  the  others. 

That  seems  to  have  been  the  end  of  their  direful  ven- 
geance, although  Captain  Alston,  to  whom  the  Kempers 
had  been  delivered  when  they  were  taken  over  the  Spanish 
line,  suffered  such  severe  exposure  to  the  wintry  elements, 
particularly  by  lying  concealed  in  an  open  boat  on  the 


172  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

river,  in  evading  his  hunters,  that  he  died  soon  afterward 
of  dropsy. 

The  cruelties  of  which  the  story  has  been  given  were  not 
the  acts  of  exceptionally  hard  characters  of  that  time  and 
region,  but  were  committed  by  men  who  were  leaders  in 
influence  and  action ;  who  commanded,  then  and  subse- 
quently, the  respect  and  admiration  of  "  the  best  families.1' 
Reuben  Kemper  came  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  military 
hero  (especially  after  his  Texas  exploits)  and  a  true  son  of 
chivalry.  Foote,  himself  a  Mississippian  and  a  prominent 
figure  among  the  gentry  of  his  State  and  once  its  Gov- 
ernor, declares  in  his  history  of  Texas  that  Kemper  was  "  a 
scion  of  noble  Virginia  stock,  born  in  Fauquier  County 
and  worthy  of  it."  In  fact  this  author,  one  of  the  elite  of 
his  section,  relates  that  when  he  was  a  boy  of  thirteen  he 
last  saw  Colonel  Kemper  at  the  residence  of  William  Wirt, 
the  celebrated  lawyer  and  politician,  in  Virginia,  where 
the  ex-buccaneer  was  an  honored  guest,  to  whom  Wirt 
paid  deferential  courtesy.  He  himself  "  was  constrained  to 
render  full  tribute  of  youthful  admiration  to  the  towering 
Achilles-like  form  and  majestic  aspect  and  demeanor  of 
the  chivalrous  Texan  commander  [Kemper,  as  will  be  seen, 
having,  after  the  valiant  deeds  now  being  related,  joined  in 
operations  against  Texas].  How  one  who  had  attempted 
to  carry  into  execution  the  liberating  policy  of  Colonel 
Burr  happened  to  find  favor  so  far  as  to  be  invited  to  the 
house  of  his  (Burr's)  distinguished  prosecutor,  is  more 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  173 

than  I  can  explain.  I  have  always  looked  upon  the  inci- 
dent as  a  little  curious." 

In  sad  truth,  the  spoliation  and  murder  of  Spanish 
subjects  were  not  committed  by  desperadoes  whose  acts 
the  gentry  deplored,  but  by  the  gentry  themselves ;  and 
there  is  enough  in  the  chronicles  of  the  generation  to 
show  that  the  specific  cases  of  cruelties  cited  were  all  too 
common,  being  practised  by  contentious  families  and 
factions  upon  each  other  as  freely  as  by  the  lynchers  upon 
captured  outlaws. 

It  is  hardly  a  digression  requiring  apology  to  refer  to 
Foote's  characterization  of  Kemper,  who  was,  during  most 
of  his  life,  engaged  in  brutal,  criminal  acts,  —  a  profane 
braggart,  a  whiskey-guzzling,  marauding,  law-defying 
ruffian  of  the  border.  These  were  the  real  attributes  of 
the  man  who  was  lauded  as  "  the  scion  of  noble  Virginia 
stock  and  worthy  of  it."  It  is  characteristic  of  the  way 
too  many  of  our  state  historians,  especially  those  of  the 
country  under  consideration,  have  had  of  treating  frontier 
actors.  Flagrant  violations  of  justice,  and  acts  even 
treasonable  in  their  nature,  are  condoned  or  passed  over 
with  respectful  acquiescence ;  the  consequence  being  that 
in  time  all  come  to  be  regarded  alike  as  pioneers  of  forti- 
tude, invincible  patriotism,  and  courage  that  always 
defended  the  right. 

Only  one  history  out  of  a  dozen  that  should  have  done 
so  tells  of  the  buccaneer  seizure  of  Baton  Rouge.  Others 


174  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

refer  to  it  merely  as  "  border  troubles,"  or  dismiss  it  with 
the  remark  that  "the  Americans  occupied  the  district.1' 
It  is  the  same  with  the  cyclopaedias.  As  Blount's  treason- 
able correspondence  is  withheld,  so  Shelby's  connivance 
with  traitors  is  minimized.  Their  names,  and  Innes's, 
Sebastian's,  George  Rogers  Clark's,  Moultrie's,  and  Elijah 
Clarke's,  are  put  into  the  category  with  names  that  never 
were  tainted  with  treason  ;  and  even  Wilkinson's  putrid 
record  finds  its  scrivener  whitewashes. 

Reuben  Kemper,  after  the  onslaught  on  the  Spaniards, 
had  now  distinguished  himself  sufficiently  to  have  the 
title  of  colonel  given  him,  and  the  "  patriots "  having 
decided  to  seize  Mobile  District  in  the  same  manner  that 
they  had  Baton  Rouge,  the  convention  —  acting  as  the 
new  government  —  sent  him  up  the  Tombigbee  for  the 
purpose  of  enlisting  a  company  to  assist  in  the  new  enter- 
prise. These  recruits,  as  well  as  the  other  invaders,  were 
all  sturdy  sons  of  liberty.  The  hatred  of  all  the  people  of 
that  valley  country  for  the  Spaniard  facilitated  Reuben's 
operations.  He  was  readily  joined  by  Colonel  Joseph 
Caller,  a  man  of  wealth  and  influence,  with  whom  Kemper 
lodged.  These  two  raised  troops  secretly,  loaded  flatboats 
with  arms  and  provisions,  and  sent  them  down  the  Tensaw 
River. 

A  Major  Kennedy  now  joined  the  scheme ;  and  he  and 
Kemper  collected  a  company  of  horse.  Just  how  large 
a  force  they  succeeded  in  raising  does  not  appear. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  175 

Probably  it  was  not  formidable  in  numbers,  but  neither 
were  the  peaceable,  law-abiding  people  they  were  to  operate 
against.  When  they  arrived  at  a  point  then  known  as 
White  House,  they  bivouacked,  and  were  joined  by  a 
company  of  original  "patriots'"  from  Baton  Rouge. 

Kemper,  the  chief  in  command,  now  sent  a  letter  to  the 
Spanish  Governor  of  the  district,  Folch,  demanding  a  sur- 
render. Folch  was  fortified  in  the  town  of  Mobile.  He 
could  hardly  have  been  ignorant  during  the  several  weeks 
past  of  what  the  Americans  were  up  to,  although  he  had 
lately  taken  command  here.  He  seems  to  have  treated 
the  demand  with  contempt;  and  the  actions  of  the  in- 
vaders do  not  indicate  that  they  possessed  either  courage 
or  military  skill.  They  camped,  pioneer  fashion,  and 
after  a  while  appointed  a  Doctor  Holmes  to  captain  a 
party  of  the  volunteers  and  scour  the  country  around  for 
more  provisions,  arms,  and  apparently  anything  of  value 
they  could  take.  It  was  guerilla  warfare.  The  inhabit- 
ants who  suffered  from  the  raid  were  Spanish  subjects,  and 
were  entitled  to  the  belief  that  their  District  was  right- 
fully a  Spanish  possession.  They  were  not  at  all  dissatis- 
fied with  the  Spanish  rule,  for  it  exacted  no  onerous  duties 
of  them  as  it  did  from  the  Americans  with  whom  they 
traded.  They  had  no  desire  to  aid  the  invaders,  and 
secreted  their  valuables  as  best  they  could. 

Finally,  the  command  "  dropped  down  to  the  old  fields 
near  Minette  Bay,"  fairly  opposite  Mobile,  appropriating 


176  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

provisions  and  forage  of  the  residents  as  they  went, 
like  any  Hessians.  But  they  did  not  attack;  and  they 
must  have  remained  here  for  some  time,  as  they  were 
again  becoming  needy,  when  they  were  rejoiced  by  the 
coming  down  the  river  of  a  Captain  Goss  with  a  keelboat 
loaded  with  whiskey,  corn,  flour,  bacon,  and  other  encour- 
agement which  the  convention  at  Baton  Rouge  had  con- 
siderately sent  to  its  army  of  conquest.  It  had  been 
steered  through  the  lakes  and  bayous.  The  supplies, 
notably  the  whiskey,  stimulated  the  ardor  and  loyalty  of 
the  whole  outfit,  but  instead  of  attacking  the  fortifications 
like  real  men  of  war  they  fell  into  the  truly  patriotic  habit 
of  making  glowing  speeches.  The  thrilling  climax  to 
these  orations  was  always  where  the  speaker  pointed  across 
to  the  ancient  city  which  they  would  soon,  by  their  prowess 
and  other  mighty  qualities,  capture  and  possess. 

But  this  sort  of  warfare,  with  almost  an  entire  lack  of 
army  discipline,  began  to  be  demoralizing.  Quarrels 
sprang  up;  there  was  a  little  promiscuous  knifing,  and 
some  shooting  frays ;  cold  rains  fell,  and  the  "  army  "  was 
without  tents.  And  still  the  Governor  of  the  coveted 
Spanish  post  declined  to  honor  their  surrender  demand. 

At  length  a  Major  Hargrove,  whose  military  genius 
brightened  with  the  stress  of  the  occasion,  took  part  of 
the  command,  and  proceeded  by  boat  twelve  miles  above 
Mobile,  boldly  facing  possible  disasters  from  alligators  and 
driftwood.  Having  made  this  heroic  voyage,  they  entered 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  177 

the  historic  bayou  of  Saw  Mill  Creek.  This  move  proved 
a  triumph,  for  here  they  found  a  fresh  supply  of  whiskey, 
and  also  some  fiddles  ;  and  straightway  the  hardy  veterans 
entered  upon  a  course  of  frolics.  They  were  to  wait  here 
for  Colonel  Kemper,  who  had  retained  command  of  the 
cavalry,  what  there  was  of  it,  and  who  was  to  swing  that 
division  around  the  town  by  the  cut-off  and  join  them. 
What  advantage  was  to  accrue  from  these  brilliant 
manoeuvres  the  records  fail  to  explain ;  nor  is  it  known 
what  movement  was  intended  next,  for  the  reason  that 
their  plans  and  jolly  roistering  were  interfered  with  most 
rudely. 

The  story  goes  that  an  evil  old  man  —  a  Spanish  sub- 
ject, of  course  —  who  had  visited  the  patriot  camp  and 
often  drank  with  the  besiegers,  went  one  night  to  Gov- 
ernor Folch  and  told  him  how  easy  it  would  be  to  rush  the 
invaders  and  capture  the  whole  force.  The  Governor  does 
not  seem  to  have  displayed  the  qualities  of  a  Fabius  any 
more  than  Kemper  had  those  of  a  Hannibal ;  for  up  to 
this  time  he  had  not  made  a  move.  Now  he  sent  Colonel 
Paredes,  the  sub-commandant,  with  about  two  hundred 
men,  troops  and  citizens,  in  boats  up  the  river  late  one 
night,  and  they  silently  entered  Saw  Mill  Creek  to  within 
a  few  rods  of  the  Americans'  camp.  The  latter  were 
dancing  and  drinking  and  waking  the  night  echoes,  and 
had  no  sentinels  on  watch.  The  Mobiliers  gave  no  hint 
of  their  coming,  but  suddenly,  from  out  the  darkness 

12 


178  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

mixed  with  canebrake,  they  fired  on  the  unsuspecting 
fiddling  American  invaders,  killed  four  of  them,  wounded 
a  number,  and  put  the  rest  to  flight  like  a  pack  of 
rabbits. 

At  a  considerable  distance  Major  Hargrove  rallied  some 
of  those  least  frightened,  and  returned  to  contest  the 
field.  He  put  up  a  weak  fight,  however,  and  was  soon 
overpowered.  He  and  nine  of  his  men  were  captured, 
placed  in  irons,  carried  down  to  Mobile,  and  thrown  into  a 
calaboose.  After  a  time  to  ponder  they  were  shipped  to 
Havana  and  there  placed  in  Morro  Castle. 

Cyrus  Sibley,  another  of  the  marauders,  was  subse- 
quently captured  and  recognized  as  the  man  who  had 
brought  to  the  Governor  Kemper's  impudent  despatch 
demanding  capitulation,  and  was  sent  to  join  his  fellow- 
patriots  in  Morro.  They  all  remained  in  that  retirement 
for  five  years.  The  robustious  Kemper,  who  had  blatantly 
sworn  to  rid  the  American  continent  of  the  Spaniards,  was 
entirely  eclipsed.  He  and  his  followers  who  escaped  cap- 
ture made  no  further  attempt  to  take  Mobile.  Yet  he 
continued  a  freebooter. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


Insensibility  of  the  American  Government  to  Wrongs  Committed  by 
Southwesterners  —  Buccaneers  not  even  Rebuked  — First  Secession 
Utterances  in  Congress—  Opposition  to  National  Growth. 

HE  independent 
government  which 
Kemper  and  his 
fellow-buccaneers  set 
up,  including  the 
power  arrogated  to 
it  of  making  treaties 
and  exercising  other 
national  functions, 
appears  to  have  been 
somewhat  for  specu- 
lative purposes ;  for 
very  soon  they  be- 
gan trying  to  strike 
a  bargain  over  it 

with  the  United  States.     This  exhibition  of  effrontery  was 

not  resented  by  the  government. 

The  remarkable  declaration  of  independence  which  they 

promulgated  was  ostensibly  by  "  The  Representatives  of 

the  People  of  West  Florida."     That  is  what  they  called 


180  THE  GLORY   SEEKERS 

themselves.  The  document  reads  as  if  it  were  the  utterance 
of  the  people  living  in  the  district  who  had  by  their  own 
act  rebelled  for  righteous  causes  and  overthrown  the 
authority  of  Spain.  Some  of  the  people  involved  in  the 
usurpation  lived  in  the  district,  yet  by  far  the  most  of 
them  were  residents  of  the  Territory  of  Mississippi.  Prac- 
tically all  of  them  were  Americans,  and  not  Spanish  sub- 
jects. They  took  it  into  their  own  hands  to  enter  the 
disputed  district,  to  make  war,  murder  or  expel  the  inhab- 
itants, and  subvert  the  government  —  "  appealing  to  the 
Supreme  Ruler  of  the  world  for  the  rectitude  of  our  in- 
tentions.*" 

They  forwarded  a  copy  of  this  impious  declaration  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States.  One  John  Rhea,  who 
had  been  elected  president  of  the  West  Florida  convention, 
addressed  a  communication  to  the  Secretary  of  State  in 
which  he  prayed  for  annexation  of  "  the  Commonwealth 
of  West  Florida11  to  the  United  States.  He  stipulated, 
however,  on  behalf  of  the  people  of  his  commonwealth,  for 
all  the  unlocated  lands  within  its  limits,  to  which  he 
asserted  they  were  entitled  as  a  reward  for  having  wrested 
the  government  and  country  from  Spain  at  the  risk  of 
their  lives  and  fortunes  ! 

It  seems  as  though  they  were  seeking  to  federate  with 
the  Union  rather  than  to  enter  it  as  one  of  the  States. 
At  least  they  demanded  special  privileges,  and  among  their 
stipulations  were  those  for  unqualified  pardons  for  all 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  181 

deserters  from  the  American  army  and  navy  then  residing 
within  the  "  commonwealth,"  a  most  significant  demand, 
together  with  exemption  from  further  service  in  the  army 
or  navy  of  the  Union. 

On  mature  reflection  these  precious  outlaws  must  have 
marvelled  at  their  own  moderation  in  not  levelling  any 
threat  of  vengeance  against  the  United  States,  should  that 
government  not  comply.  The  only  intimation  of  their 
power  was  that  as  a  federated  State  it  would  add  to  the 
prestige  and  strength,  as  well  as  the  prosperity,  of  the 
Federal  Union !  Not  on  the  American  continent  has  any- 
thing more  impudent  been  done  by  a  few  hundred  lawless 
adventurers,  and  one  eagerly  reads  on  to  discover  what 
action  the  government  took  concerning  it. 

There  is  nothing  to  show  that  the  declaration  was  not  re- 
ceived by  the  President,  and  Rhea's  address  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  State,  with  any  other  than  respectful  consideration  ! 
Not  a  suggestion  of  punishment,  not  even  a  rebuke ! 
President  Madison,  after  consulting  with  the  cabinet, 
decided  that  the  government  must  take  immediate  posses- 
sion of  the  District  of  West  Florida,  and  on  Oct.  27, 
1810,  issued  a  proclamation.  In  view  of  the  facts  as 
shown,  and  of  the  admission  by  the  President  as  to  disputed 
territory  and  uncompleted  negotiations,  this  proclamation 
is  as  startling  to  a  straight-thinking  American  of  to-day 
as  the  declaration  of  the  Kemperites. 

It  declares  the  described  territory,  of  which  possession 


182  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

was  not  delivered  to  the  United  States  with  Louisiana, 
had  been  considered  and  claimed  as  part  of  Louisiana. 
That  the  acquiescence  of  the  United  States  in  the  tempo- 
rary continuance  of  the  territory  under  Spanish  authority 
was  not  because  of  any  distrust  of  our  title,  but  was  occa- 
sioned by  our  conciliatory  views,  and  by  a  confidence  in  the 
justice  of  our  cause,  and  in  the  success  of  amicable  negotia- 
tions with  a  just  and  friendly  power.     "  And  whereas  a 
satisfactory   adjustment   too   long   delayed,    without   the 
fault  of  the  United  States,  has  for  some  time  been  entirely 
suspended  by  events  over  which  they  had  no  control ;  and 
whereas  a  crisis  has  at  length  arrived,  subversive  of  the 
order  of  things  under  the  Spanish  authorities,  whereby  a 
failure  of  the  United  States  to  take  the  said  territory  into 
its  possession  may  lead  to  events  ultimately  contravening 
the  views  of  both  parties;   whilst  in  the  meantime  the 
tranquillity  and  security  of  our  adjoining  territories  are 
endangered,  and  new  facilities   given  to  violators  of  our 
revenue  and  commercial  laws,  and  of  those  prohibiting  the 
introduction   of  slaves " ;    and    further,   considering   that 
further  forbearance  of  the  United  States  to  take   hold 
might  be  construed  into  a  dereliction  of  their  title,  or  an 
'insensibility  of  the  importance  of  the  stake;  considering 
also  that  in  the  hands  of  the  United  States  it  will  not 
cease  to  be  a  subject  of  fair  and  friendly  adjustment,  the 
President,  in  pursuance  of  these  mighty  and  urgent  consid- 
erations, has  deemed  it  right  and  requisite  that  possession 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  183 

be  taken  of  the  said  territory  by  the  United  States ;  and 
that  W.  C.  C.  Claiborne,  Governor  of  Orleans  Territory,  of 
which  said  Territory  is  to  be  taken  as  part,  exercise 
over  it  the  authorities  and  functions  legally  appertaining 
to  his  office.  And  the  good  people  were  to  be  obedient 
under  assurance  of  protection  of  liberty,  property,  and 
religion  ! 

In  its  studied  evasion  of  the  enormity  of  the  offence 
which  had  been  committed  against  Spain,  "a  just  and 
friendly  power,""  its  mixture  of  truth  and  error,  shifty  ex- 
cusings,  arid  patronizing  innuendo,  the  paper  is  more 
worthy  a  Talleyrand  than  the  chief  executive  of  the 
American  Union. 

This  was  the  extent  of  the  retribution  coming  to 
Kemper  and  his  party,  so  far  as  the  sovereign~power  of  the 
national  government  was  concerned.  Spain  must  have 
been  highly  edified  at  the  touching  confidence  expressed  in 
the  results  of  amicable  negotiation  and  ultimate  happy 
arrangement  of  the  matter.  Strangely  enough,  Spain  made 
little  outcry,  the  reason  being,  as  indicated  by  one  of  the 
speakers  on  the  subject  in  Congress  some  time  later,  that 
she  was  too  submerged  in  trouble  at  home  to  pay  any 
attention  to  it. 

But  England,  then  the  ally  of  Spain,  did  object.  Mr. 
Morier,  British  minister  at  Washington,  expressed  deep 
regret  at  the  determination  to  take  West.  Florida, 
title  to  which  was  manifestly  doubtful,  —  according  to 


184  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

the  President's  proclamation  it  was  open  to  discussion. 
But  without  discussing  that,  why  could  not  it  have  been 
adjusted  without  committing  an  act  of  hostility  ?  Merely 
because  Spain  was  then  unequal  to  quell  the  rebellious 
band  of  desperadoes  known  by  the  contemptuous  appella- 
tion of  land-jobbers !  Mr.  Morier  did  not  mince  words, 
even  if  his  folks  did  live  in  a  glass  house.  And  then  he 
read  this  lecture  to  the  American  government,  striking  in 
its  sarcasm  and  unveiled  contempt: 

"  Would  it  not  have  been  worthy  of  the  generosity  of  a 
free  nation  like  this,  bearing,  as  it  doubtless  does,  a  respect 
for  the  rights  of  a  gallant  people  engaged  in  a  noble 
struggle  for  liberty,  —  would  it  not  have  been  an  act  on 
the  part  of  this  country,  dictated  by  the  sacred  ties  of 
good  neighborhood  and  friendship  which  exist  between  it 
and  Spain,  to  have  assisted  Spain  rather  than  to  have 
made  such  interference  the  pretext  for  wresting  a  province 
from  her  in  the  time  of  her  adversity  ?  " 

Mr.  Morier  went  further,  intimating  that  his  govern- 
ment and  Spain  were  allies,  and  that  Great  Britain  could 
not  see  with  indifference  any  attack  upon  her  interests  in 
America.  He  demanded  an  explanation.  But  as  the 
United  States  counted  on  war  with  England  very  soon  (it 
came  in  two  years)  she  did  not  take  the  trouble  to  give 
one. 

However,  the  outrage  was  not  approved  by  all  Americans. 
The  subject  split  Congress,  but  more  as  a  political  question 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  185 

—  for  or  against  the  administration.  The  controversies 
arising  from  this  disgraceful  seizure  of  territory  are  of 
unusual  historical  interest,  not  only  because  the  wrong 
involved  was  so  generally  disregarded,  but  for  the  fact 
that  it  aroused  the  first  debates  over  national  expansion, 
and  occasioned  the  first  expression  of  secession  sentiment 
heard  in  either  chamber. 

One  senator  said  it  was  agreed  by  all  parties  that  we 
ought  to  have  the  country  which  had  been  taken.  They 
differed  only  as  to  the  mode  of  acquiring  it.  The  act  of 
the  Executive  was  a  matter  of  expediency.  If  we  did  not 
take  possession  and  give  the  people  the  protection  of  the 
American  government,  and  if  they  had  sought  it  of  a 
foreign  power,  he  (the  President)  would  have  been  charged 
with  fear  and  imbecility.  And  then,  considering  it  as  an 
emergency,  the  honorable  senator  asked :  "  Are  we  to  sit 
here  and  cavil  about  questions  of  right  ?  " 

An  anti-administration  senator  declared  the  proclama- 
tion was  a  declaration  of  war,  and  an  act  of  legislation 
also,  —  it  annexed  territory  in  dispute,  created  a  Governor, 
enacted  laws,  and  appropriated  money.  It  seemed  to  him 
as  if  President  Madison  had  n't  left  anything  for  Congress 
to  do.  Besides,  what  had  Spain  done  to  provoke  this  act 
of  aggression  ?  Was  it  that  she  had  lately  sent  a  minister 
to  express  her  friendly  disposition  to  treat  with  us  for  both 
the  Floridas,  and  to  pay  what  she  owed  us  for  spoliations  ? 
.  .  .  Why  should  we  depart  from  the  great  system  of 


186  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

conduct  which  had  been  the  pride,  the  safety,  and  the 
boast  of  our  country,  of  faith,  of  justice,  of  peace  ?  —  and 
much  more  in  the  same  strain.  But  the  President  was 
sustained  in  the  Senate  by  a  large  majority.  The  acts  of 
the  buccaneers  were  hardly  once  condemned,  or  mentioned 
with  disapproval,  —  only  the  act  of  the  Executive  in  tak- 
ing advantage  of  it. 

In  the  House  the  debate  ran  higher  ;  but  the  matter  of 
forcible  seizure  by  land-robbers  was  entirely  lost  in  the 
fog  of  discussion  of  constitutional  questions  involving  the 
authority  of  the  United  States  ever  to  extend  her  terri- 
tory, or  to  add  new  States  to  the  original  thirteen.  The 
opposition  was  led  by  Josiah  Quincy,  of  Massachusetts, 
who  was  in  those  days  engaged  in  the  continuous  perform- 
ance of  leading  the  little  band  of  Federalists  against  the 
administration  strongholds.  His  utterances  make  strange 
reading  for  an  American  citizen  of  to-day.  Little  did 
Kemper  dream,  when  he  started  out  after  the  blood  and 
possessions  of  the  Spaniards,  that  his  acts  would  lead  to 
such  heights  of  controversy  over  constitutional  limitations. 

It  was  pointed  out  that  the  President  declared  to  the 
world  that  title  to  the  district  involved  should  be  subject 
to  adjustment  by  mutual  arrangement  hereafter  to  be 
entered  into  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  while 
the  bill  before  Congress  provided  for  annexation  of  the 
district  to  the  State  which  it  was  proposed  to  form  out  of 
the  lower  part  of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana.  What 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  187 

power  had  the  government  to  negotiate  about  the  territory 
of  any  one  of  the  States  ?  None  ! 

Still  the  great  moral  question  did  not  come  up.  The 
senator  who  asked  if  they  were  to  cavil  about  mere  ques- 
tions of  right,  in  the  face  of  expediency,  need  not  have 
disturbed  himself.  Nobody  in  the  Congress  of  liberty- 
loving  America  took  the  trouble  to  do  so.  The  wrangle 
—  and  a  memorable  one  it  was  —  raged  only  over  consti- 
tutional authority  and  restrictions.  Mr.  Quincy,  who  all 
his  life  posed  on  a  moral  pedestal,  had  not  a  word  to  say 
against  freebooting,  or  murder,  or  the  driving  of  a  friendly 
people  from  their  homes.  His  argument  was  that  of  the 
narrowest  of  political  provincials,  and  no  anti-expansionist 
of  Massachusetts  or  elsewhere  of  later  days  has  equalled 
him  in  uncompromising  opposition  to  national  growth. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  debate  had  now  turned 
on  the  question  of  admitting  a  new  State  —  Louisiana. 
The  proposition  to  add  a  State  to  the  Union  —  to  increase 
the  original  family  of  thirteen  by  a  single  addition  —  filled 
Mr.  Quincy  with  distress.  The  principle  of  the  bill  — 
admitting  new  territory  —  appeared  to  him,  he  said,  to 
justify  a  revolution  in  the  land !  It  affected  the  liberties 
and  rights  of  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States  — 
that  is,  the  original  thirteen.  He  was  almost  tempted  to 
leave,  without  a  struggle,  his  country  to  its  fate ! 

While  it  is  not  the  purpose  here  to  follow  the  debate, 
the  quotation  of  some  of  the  remarks  of  the  principals 


188  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

who  engaged  in  it,  pro  and  con,  on  the  particular  subject, 
cannot  be  much  of  a  digression  from  the  story. 

Mr.  Quincy  continued  to  deny  any  right  under  the  Con- 
stitution to  extend  the  original  limits  of  the  United  States 
by  the  admission  of  States.  To  attempt  to  do  so,  he  de- 
clared, was  an  atrocious  and  manifest  usurpation  of  power 
by  the  three  branches  of  the  government.  The  Constitu- 
tion was  a  political  compact  between  thirteen  States.  No 
more  could  be  admitted  without  shattering  the  instrument. 
To  admit  a  new  State  would  dissolve  the  Union!  "For 
then  the  States  that  compose  it  will  be  free  from  their  moral 
obligations,  and  that,  as  it  will  be  the  right  of  all,  so  it  will 
be  the  duty  of  some,  definitely  to  prepare  for  a  separation, 
amicably  if  they  can,  violently  if  they  must ! " 

The  future  president  of  Harvard  University  struck  the 
limit  of  secession  doctrine,  —  that  it  would  be  the  duty  of 
some  States  to  secede  if  Congress  should  pass  a  bill  adding 
a  foot  of  ground  to  the  original  territory.  Four  States 
had  already  been  added  to  the  original  thirteen  since  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution,  but  they  had  been  carved 
out  of  the  territory  held  at  that  time.  This,  the  proposed 
admission  of  Louisiana  out  of  a  purchased  province,  was 
the  first  move  toward  the  extension  of  the  national  domain 
in  the  statehood.  Mr.  Quincy's  violent  words  were  not 
the  unguarded  utterance  of  passion.  Upon  objection 
being  made,  he  wrote  them  down  and  sent  them  to  the 
desk,  so  there  would  be  no  misunderstanding. 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  189 

Did  Josiah  Quincy  believe  that  the  act  should  dissolve 
the  Union  ?  The  explanation  of  his  monstrous  sentiments, 
based  on  such  a  construction  of  the  Constitution,  probably 
lies  in  the  fact  that  the  people  of  his  State  and  of  New 
England  were  then  in  bitter  opposition  to  the  embargo 
laid  on  their  maritime  commerce  by  the  President,  and 
that  many  of  them  were  talking  about  withdrawing  from 
the  Union  because  of  the  hardship  it  imposed  on  those 
States.  That  Representative  Quincy  was  looking  forward 
to  secession,  and  thus  grasped  this  occasion  to  raise  an- 
other and  a  more  dignified  justification  than  an  embargo 
for  the  course  he  believed  his  constituents  might  take,  is  a 
supposition  that,  however  damaging  to  his  patriotism, 
does  less  violence  to  his  intelligence  than  the  absurd  doc- 
trine concerning  the  Constitution  which  he  professed  to 
hold. 

It  seems  a  strange  paradox,  in  the  light  of  history  that 
has  since  been  made,  that  the  member  to  call  Mr.  Quincy 
to  order  for  his  seditious  utterances  was  from  Mississippi. 
Mr.  Poindexter  earnestly  declared  it  was  radically  wrong 
for  any  member  to  use  arguments  to  dissolve  the  govern- 
ment, and  questioned  the  right  of  a  member  to  invite  any 
portion  of  the  people  to  insurrection  and  a  dissolution  of 
the  Union. 

The  speaker  ruled  the  treasonable  utterances  contrary 
to  the  order  of  debate,  but  Mr.  Quincy  appealed  to  the 
House,  which  (probably  wanting  to  hear  to  what  lengths 


190  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

the  New  Englander  would  go)  reversed  the  decision.  A 
long  controversy  ensued,  in  which  Mr.  Quincy  declared  the 
people  of  New  Orleans  and  of  Louisiana  never  had  been 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  by  the  mode  proposed, 
never  would  be.  He  indulged  in  a  good  deal  of  other  talk 
which  sounds  so  utterly  foolish  now  as  to  make  it  seem 
uncharitable  to  quote  it  against  him.  He  appeared  to 
fear  the  development  of  the  West,  as  many  narrow- 
visioned  residents  of  the  Atlantic  States  did  at  that 
time. 

"Why,""  he  exclaimed  in  his  oratorical  spasm  against 
the  Louisiana  bill,  "  are  we  to  have  representatives  of  a 
people  fifteen  hundred  miles  away  legislating  here  for 
Massachusetts  ?  Are  savages  along  the  banks  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  be  given  a  voice  in  our  government  ?" 

Mr.  Poindexter  taunted  Mr.  Quincy  about  a  declaration 
that  the  latter  had  made  in  a  previous  debate,  to  the 
effect  that  the  people  of  New  England  were  prepared  for 
insurrection  and  revolt  unless  the  embargo  was  repealed ; 
adding  that  the  British  minister  to  the  United  States  had 
reported  that  utterance  made  on  the  floor  of  the  House, 
and  had  informed  his  government  that  the  dissolution  of 
the  Union  was  a  probable  event. 

The  bill  passed  by  a  large  majority. 

The  District  under  dispute,  which  the  Spaniards  called 
Baton  Rouge,  and  which  Kemper  and  his  fellow-buccaneers 
called,  after  their  seizure  of  it,  West  Florida,  was  that 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  191 

block  of  land  lying  between  the  Mississippi  River,  the 
State  of  Mississippi,  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Out  of  it 
subsequently  were  carved  the  parishes  of  East  Baton 
Rouge,  St.  Helena,  East  Feliciana,  West  Feliciana,  St. 
Tammany,  Tangipahoa,  Livingston,  and  Washington. 


CHAPTER  IX 


The  Magee  Expedition  —  Soldier  and  Filibuster  —  Glory  Leads  toward 
Mexico  —  The  "  Republican  Army  of  the  North  "  —  Success  of  the 
Invaders  —  Strange  Death  of  the  Leader. 

UGUSTUS  MA- 
GEE,  lieutenant  in 
the  United  States 
army,  set  on  foot 
the  next  enterprise 
for  the  conquest  of 
Texas. 

In  1811  there  was 

a  scandalous  state  of 

« 

affairs  on  the  Texas- 
Louisiana  border. 
It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  in  1806 
the  Spaniards  un- 
der Herrera  and  the 
Americans  under  Wilkinson  were  all  but  in  collision  over 
the  boundary  line ;  and  that,  owing  to  Wilkinson's  desire  to 
get  away  to  betray  his  friend  Burr,  he  patched  up  a  pecu- 
liar peace  with  his  antagonist  whereby  a  "  neutral  ground  " 
was  established.  This  was  a  strip  of  wild  country  between 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  193 

the  Sabine  River  and  the  Arrondo  Hoyo.  The  agreement 
was  that  so  long  as  both  countries  claimed  it  neither 
should  have  it,  at  least  for  a  while.  After  other  things 
were  out  of  the  way,  the  two  nations  might  come  together 
and  settle  this  difference,  but  in  the  meantime  the  neutral 
ground  was  to  remain  a  wilderness. 

It  was  a  foolish  proposition  ;  but  it  will  not  be  forgotten 
that  a  brief  quarter-century  before  it  had  been  the  avowed 
policy  of  Spain  to  keep  Louisiana  a  wilderness  as  a  safe- 
guard to  Texas  and  Mexico.  And  just  a  year  before 
Wilkinson's  treaty  our  commissioners  at  Madrid,  Monroe 
and  Pinckney,  proposed  to  the  Spanish  government  that 
the  two  nations  establish  a  territory  comprising  thirty 
leagues  on  both  sides  of  the  Colorado  River  which  should 
remain  unsettled  forever.  This  was  on  the  theory  that, 
with  such  a  dead  strip  between  the  two  provinces,  there 
would  be  no  border  difficulties,  —  no  clothesline  quarrels 
to  be  settled  in  the  national  police  courts. 

But  Spain  would  not  accept  the  proposal,  and  therein 
showed  her  good  sense.  For  the  temporary  neutral  ground 
as  established  by  the  commanders  in  the  field  soon  became 
a  paradise  for  the  lawless.  Highwaymen,  murderers,  horse- 
thieves,  and  brigands  of  the  most  desperate  and  degraded 
type  made  the  land  their  retreat.  As  it  belonged  to  nobody 
now  they  were  comparatively  safe  from  arrest.  What 
made  the  matter  worse,  it  may  be,  Spain  had  interrupted 
diplomatic  relations  with  the  United  States  from  1808  to 

13 


194.  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

1815.  Napoleon  had  practically  blotted  her  out  for  a 
time.  At  last  the  Sabine  River  was  agreed  upon  as  the 
boundary,  and  the  treaty  confirming  it  was  signed  Feb. 
21,  1819. 

But  in  the  meantime  there  was  trouble  on  the  border. 
It  was  about  as  much  as  a  trader's  life  was  worth  to  at- 
tempt to  pass  it  with  any  valuables.  It  got  so  bad  that 
traders  from  Mexico,  on  reaching  the  west  bank  of  the 
Sabine,  would  sometimes  send  for  a  military  escort  to  con- 
duct them  to  Natchitoches.  This  duty  fell  to  Lieutenant 
Magee. 

The  story  of  Augustus  Magee  is  different  from  that  of 
all  the  other  fame-seekers  by  conquest  in  the  early  South- 
west; and  although  it  is  devoid  of  any  romance  of  the 
heart,  so  far  as  known,  it  excites  a  deeply  pathetic  interest. 
The  very  fact  that  his  brief  life  in  the  wilds,  with  an  en- 
vironment more  befitting  a  corsair  than  a  man  of  culture, 
was  unsoffcened  and  uncheered  by  woman's  love  when  the 
star  of  his  rash  ambition  waned,  makes  his  career  the  more 
regrettable. 

He  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  and  was  of  good  family. 
About  all  that  the  histories  tell  of  his  early  life  is  that  he 
entered  West  Point,  and  was  graduated  in  January,  1809. 
Receiving  an  appointment  as  second  lieutenant  of  artillery, 
he  was  ordered  to  Louisiana,  where  Wilkinson  still  had 
command.  It  is  a  striking  fact  that  every  adventurer 
who,  during  a  quarter  of  a  century  or  more,  entered  upon 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  195 

daring  aggressions  against  the  Spanish  possessions,  had 
been  under  that  man's  evil  influence.  For  a  while  Lieu- 
tenant Magee  was  stationed  at  New  Orleans.  After  some 
two  years  of  somewhat  inactive  army  life  he  was  sent  by 
Major  Wolstoncroft  to  Natchitoches,  the  most  westerly 
army  post  of  the  region. 

Magee's  principal  duty  here  was,  as  already  indicated, 
the  protection  of  travellers  from  the  cutthroats  of  the 
neutral  ground,  near  the  eastern  border  of  which  his  post 
was  situated.  It  was  merely  border  police  duty,  of  a  very 
uninteresting  sort  to  an  ambitious  young  soldier.  A  re- 
port of  some  deviltry  would  be  received,  and  away  he 
would  go  with  a  squad  of  troopers  and  chase  about  in  an 
execrable  desert  for  the  depredators  —  whom  he  seldom 
could  catch.  Then  he  would  go  back  to  the  isolated  little 
fort  and  loll  the  hours  away  till  the  next  call  on  him  was 
made.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  doubtful  whether, 
under  the  treaty  agreement,  he  had  any  right  to  enter  the 
sequestered  district  and  arrest  anybody. 

Once  in  a  while  he  would  catch  some  of  the  brigands, 
and  then  he  did  not  waste  time  reading  up  laws  and  regu- 
lations to  ascertain  just  how  far  he  was  authorized  to  go 
in  the  matter  of  chastisement.  Extremes  were  good 
enough  for  such  as  he  dealt  with.  This  is  illustrated  by 
the  happenings  when  he  went  across  to  Salitre  on  the 
Texas  side,  to  meet  and  escort  a  company  of  Mexican 
traders  through  the  robbers'  kingdom  to  Natchitoches. 


196  THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

The  roads  were  mere  traces,  and  most  of  the  traffic  of  that 
and  previous  times  being  of  a  contraband  nature,  these 
were  called  "  contraband  traces."  Many  of  the  highway- 
men had  established  themselves  in  the  bad  lands  as 
"squatters,"  with  their  families,  ostensibly  for  hunting 
and  small  farming.  All  marauded  alike  on  the  Americans 
and  Mexicans  who  came  their  way,  although  their  affec- 
tions inclined  more  to  the  latter,  as  they  were  usually 
better  supplied  with  specie,  and  also  because  they  could, 
as  a  rule,  be  robbed  with  greater  impunity.  A  peculiar 
illustration  of  the  fascination  of  lucre  —  the  desire  to  pos- 
sess the  thing  itself!  One  would  have  supposed  that, 
living  in  that  dreary  country  without  commerce  or  pro- 
duction, the  capture  of  a  load  of  provisions  or  other 
supplies,  which  usually  come  as  godsends  to  remote  habi- 
tations, would  have  been  the  most  desirable  booty;  but 
no,  the  rascals  preferred  the  silver,  although  it  is  difficult 
to  understand  what  good  they  could  get  out  of  it  in  their 
situation. 

On  the  occasion  noted,  young  Magee  met  the  Mexican 
train,  which  had  an  unusual  quantity  of  silver,  and  was 
especially  desirous  of  protection.  All  went  safely  under 
convoy  of  the  lieutenant  until  they  reached  the  small 
streamlet  of  La  Nan.  This  was  pretty  well  over  toward 
the  American  side,  and  not  so  very  far  from  Natchitoches. 
Here  a  gang  of  thirteen  of  the  robbers,  no  doubt  having 
full  information  concerning  the  trading  party,  sprang  from 


I 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  197 

an  ambuscade  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  completely  sur- 
prising the  party. 

Magee  and  his  men  were  slightly  in  advance,  and  were 
just  starting  to  cross  the  stream,  which  here  made  a  sharp 
bend.  It  was  an  ideal  place  for  such  an  attack.  The 
banditti  fired  from  the  cover  of  the  thickets,  and  several 
of  the  small  caravan  were  killed.  Magee  and  the  troop 
being  now  across  the  rivulet,  saw  their  charge,  the  unfor- 
tunate traders,  surrounded.  A  fight  ensued,  but  the  sit- 
uation was  such  that  the  soldiers  were  as  likely  to  kill  the 
travellers  by  their  fire,  as  they  were  the  outlaws.  It  is  sus- 
pected, too,  that  Magee's  men  did  not  behave  with  the 
valor  expected  of  them,  and  from  the  accounts  it  would 
seem  that  the  lieutenant  himself  was  censurable  on  the 
charge  of  carelessness,  although  nothing  of  the  sort  is 
hinted  at  in  the  histories. 

The  Mexicans  were  captured,  the  outlaws  getting  the 
better  of  the  debate,  and  Magee,  finding  himself  out- 
classed, retreated  in  hot  speed  to  his  post.  Here  he 
secured  a  larger  force,  and  the  following  day  went  back 
after  the  desperadoes.  In  the  meantime  the  traders  had 
been  despoiled  of  both  silver  and  goods.  Having  got 
their  booty,  the  brigands  took  the  silver  and  buried  it  for 
present  safety  —  there  being  a  considerable  quantity  of 
it  —  along  the  bank  of  the  river.  The  details  of  this 
deposit  were  attended  to,  for  business  reasons,  by  the  two 
leaders  of  the  gang,  while  the  others  were  guarding  the 


198  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

prisoners  and  mules.  Then  the  Mexicans  —  those  who 
survived  —  were  sent  back  homeward,  and  the  robbers  dis- 
persed themselves,  suspicious  of  what  might  be  coming. 

By  this  time  brigandage  had  thriven  so  well,  and  so 
many  had  entered  the  godless  field  of  plunder,  that  a  sort 
of  organization,  or  union,  had  been  effected  to  keep  the 
industry  within  desirable  restrictions.  They  had  head- 
quarters (somewhat  elusive,  to  be  sure),  outposts,  and  cap- 
tains. Magee  had  learned  all  this.  He  knew  what  he 
had  to  contend  with,  but  he  was  determined  to  inflict 
punishment  on  some  of  the  criminals.  He  made  a  sweep 
through  their  domain  of  deviltry,  burnt  some  of  their 
houses  and  caught  some  of  their  horses,  but  for  a  time 
failed  to  capture  any  of  his  former  assailants.  Finally, 
he  overtook  the  two  chiefs.  The  brazen  rascals  had  actu- 
ally started  by  a  roundabout  trace  for  Natchitoches  to 
dispose  of  such  of  the  merchandise  as  they  did  not  want 
for  their  own  use;  counting,  apparently,  on  not  being 
recognized,  and  posing  as  reputable  dealers. 

But  the  lieutenant  was  not  to  be  fooled.  He  proceeded 
summarily  by  having  them  tied  to  trees  and  flogged  to 
make  them  disclose  the  whereabouts  of  their  associates, 
who  Magee  supposed  must  have  the  silver.  In  spite  of 
severe  lashing  the  captives  would  reveal  nothing ;  and  then 
the  lieutenant  tried  another  method  of  persuasion.  He 
had  coals  of  fire  passed  up  and  down  their  naked  and 
lacerated  backs  —  something  like  a  free  operation  of  the 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  199 

moxa.  Whether  or  not  live  coals  on  the  spine  can  add 
anything  to  the  discomfort  of  a  man  who  has  just  received 
a  hundred  whistling  lashes,  the  recipients  of  the  treatment 
still  refused  to  divulge  anything,  either  about  their  com- 
rades or  the  spelter.  And  Lieutenant  Magee,  being  weary 
by  that  time,  took  the  wretches  along  to  Natchitoches  and 
turned  them  over  to  the  civil  authorities  for  punishment. 

The  guilty  ones  were  tried  forthwith  and  as  promptly 
convicted,  each  being  sentenced  to  ten  years'*  imprison- 
ment. It  is  remarkable,  considering  the  circumstances 
and  the  time,  that  they  should  have  escaped  the  death 
penalty ;  and  there  is  some  cause  to  suspect  that  it  was 
owing  to  the  severe  torture  they  had  undergone  at  the 
hands  of  the  military.  They  were  serving  their  sentence 
when  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain  came  on;  and 
late  in  1813,  when  the  British  were  menacing  New  Orleans, 
and  every  effort  was  being  made  to  raise  troops  hastily  for 
the  defence  —  it  took  time  in  those  days  to  move  regi- 
ments long  distances  —  they  were  offered  a  pardon  if  they 
would  enlist  in  the  service.  One  of  the  convicts  readily 
agreed,  and  was  one  of  the  heroes  who  overcame  the 
British  on  the  memorable  eighth  of  January. 

The  other  fellow  stubbornly  refused  the  pardon  proposi- 
tion, having  other  projects  in  his  head.  He  served  his 
time  out,  and  then  entered  upon  a  business  career  of  a  less 
dangerous  kind  than  his  former  one. 

The  robbers  who  attacked   Magee,  and   who  escaped 


200  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

him,  returned  in  due  time  to  the  scene  of  their  successful 
action  to  make  search  for  the  hidden  silver.  Circum- 
stances not  subject  to  their  control  forbidding  them  from 
communicating  with  their  former  chiefs,  they  were  forced 
to  conduct  their  quest  at  haphazard.  They  might 
almost  as  well  have  been  blindfolded.  They  went  up  and 
down  La  Nan  Creek  from  the  curve  which  they  remem- 
bered well  as  the  exact  spot  where  the  affray  took  place. 
They  inspected  every  foot  of  the  banks,  both  sides,  bur- 
rowed in  all  the  inaccessible  crannies,  and  dug  the  gravelly 
places  in  the  stream.  They  searched  deep  and  shallow, 
did  those  hopeful  brigands,  tried  the  witch  hazel  and  other 
conjuring,  but  never  the  chink  of  a  good  dollar  did  they 
hear,  and  not  a  coin  did  they  find. 

However,  the  ex-convict,  after  his  time  was  out,  re- 
membered well  enough.  Immediately  upon  regaining  his 
liberty  he  went  and  dug  up  the  whole  treasure  bright 
and  clean.  With  it  he  went  over  to  Georgia  and  entered 
the  slave-driving  business.  Buying  a  band  of  blacks,  he 
would  chain  them  in  a  gang,  drive  them  to  where  the  de- 
mand made  higher  prices,  and  sell  at  a  profit.  After  a 
few  deals  of  this  kind  he  bought  a  lot  and  took  them  to 
Texas.  The  chronicle  relates  that,  having  entered  legiti- 
mate pursuits,  he  likewise  reformed  his  manners,  and  be- 
came a  reputable  citizen.  Being  among  the  first  colonists 
in  the  land  of  his  former  exploits  (now  reduced  to  greater 
security)  he  established  himself  as  a  planter,  lived  as  a  real 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  201 

gentleman  of  the  slave-holding  class,  and  died  a  few  years 
before  the  Texas  revolution,  much  lamented  by  the  aristoc- 
racy of  his  section.  To  be  sure,  there  was  now  and  then 
a  whisper,  —  but  for  that,  there  are  gentlemen  even  to-day 
with  records  that  are  dim. 

Magee  at  this  time  was  only  about  twenty-four  years 
old,  yet  one  of  the  Texas  historians  speaks  of  him  as  "  a 
leader  of  tried  fidelity  and  valor,"  and  says  that  he  ulti- 
mately thrashed  the  outlaws  till  they  sued  for  pardon  and 
promised  better  conduct  in  the  future.  Even  so,  the  hum- 
drum occupation  of  disciplining  a  nestful  of  border  rob- 
bers, and  then  sitting  around  in  the  shade  of  a  mud  fort 
waiting  till  another  mule  was  stolen,  was  not  his  idea  of 
winning  distinction. 

He  is  credited  in  the  books  with  having  been  "  a  man  of 
more  than  ordinary  accomplishments.'"  It  is  altogether 
probable  that  he  was  conversant  with  the  events  of  his 
day.  An  ambitious  young  soldier,  he  no  doubt  was  influ- 
enced, as  were  thousands  of  others  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  by  the  blaze  of  Napoleon's  glory,  —  that  lonesome 
genius  being  just  then  at  the  very  zenith  of  his  greatness. 
He  had  heard,  from  his  boyhood,  stories  of  the  schemes  of 
conquest  of  Genet.  He  had  learned  what  the  real  objects 
of  Wilkinson  and  of  Burr  were.  There  still  was  Texas, 
and  beyond,  chaotic  Mexico.  There  was  already  arising 
a  clamor  for  entrance  upon  the  fertile  lands  of  the  vast 
province  which  he  was  now  serving  at  the  threshold.  Of 


202  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

the  mighty  possibilities  of  the  future  he  dreamed  on  idle 
days  at  the  frontier  post. 

Magee  was  set  dreaming  by  something  more  potent 
than  the  rich  red  poppies  in  the  gardens  of  the  Southwest. 
And  in  this  mood  he  became  acquainted  with  Bernardo 
Gutierrez,  a  former  colonel  in  the  Mexican  insurgent  army 
of  the  gallant  Hidalgo.  This  man  had,  after  the  defeat 
of  Hidalgo,  sought  asylum  and  assistance  in  the  United 
States.  The  asylum  he  found  was  broad,  the  assistance 
meagre.  Americans,  themselves  not  yet  opulent,  had 
wearied  of  lending  aid  to  patriots  who  had  fled  from 
Mexico  and  South  America.  There  had  been  something 
too  much  of  it.  So  Gutierrez  was  keeping  out  of  the 
clutches  of  Spain,  and  doing  the  next  best  thing  he 
could. 

Whatever  scheme  Magee  had  been  revolving  in  his  mind 
was  no  doubt  hurried  to  definite  formation  by  his  associa- 
tion with  Bernardo.  At  any  rate,  it  was  but  a  short  time 
before  the  Mexican  was  announcing  a  plan  for  the  invasion 
of  Texas.  Proposals  were  published  for  raising  the  "  Army 
of  the  North."  It  was  in  the  name  of  the  Mexican,  but 
everybody  knew  that  young  Lieutenant  Magee  was  the 
power  and  influence  behind  it.  Now  transpires  a  strange 
part  of  the  business.  Magee  made  a  tour  through  the 
neutral  grounds,  saw  the  leaders  of  the  freebooters  and 
knights  of  the  contraband  traces,  notified  them  of  the 
expedition  of  conquest  which  he  was  organizing,  and 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  203 

invited  them  and  their  fellows  to  join  it.  Scores  of 
them  did  so.  In  fact,  it  appears  from  some  accounts 
that  this  select  body  of  banditti  was  the  nucleus  of  his 
organization. 

But  recruiting  began  also  in  Louisiana,  and  among  the 
few  advance  settlers  who  had  stolen  into  Texas  and  who 
were  fearful  of  the  insecure  conditions.  They  had  confi- 
dence in  the  country,  and  believed  it  ought  to  be  wrested 
from  Spanish  rule ;  were  enthused  over  Magee's  glittering 
forecast  —  a  separate  nation,  sudden  development  of  wealth 
and  power,  and  the  possibilities  of  turning  the  Spaniards 
out  of  Mexico !  It  was  the  old  prospect,  and  appealed  to 
many  besides  the  desperate.  There  was  the  well-to-do 
Davenport  and  his  partner,  Barr,  ranchmen  who  had 
stores  at  Angelina.  Davenport  became  chief  commissary 
of  the  expedition,  and  influenced  other  men  of  means  to 
subscribe  to  the  fund  for  it.  Magee,  early  in  the  move- 
ment, went  to  New  Orleans  and  enlisted  a  number  of  young 
men,  mostly  dare-devil  fellows  who  could  be  easily  induced 
into  any  kind  of  adventure.  Whether  he  had  secured 
leave  of  absence  for  this  journey  of  several  hundred  miles 
cannot  be  ascertained  from  any  of  the  published  records 
concerning  him ;  but  it  is  certain  that  he  yet  held  his 
commission.  The  question  presents  itself  as  to  the  possi- 
bility of  his  superior  officers  having  knowledge  at  this 
time  of  his  acts  and  intentions.  It  is  not  a  rash  presump- 
tion that  one  or  more  of  them  must  ihave  had,  yet  it  is 


204  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

not  borne  out  by  the  evidence,  any  further  than  that 
Magee  had  previously  come  in  contact  with  General 
Wilkinson. 

In  the  proposal  for  troops,  pay  at  the  rate  of  forty  dol- 
lars per  month  was  offered,  besides  which  each  volunteer 
was  to  be  given  a  league  of  land  —  nearly  six  thousand 
acres  —  in  the  new  Dominion.  This  was  several  times 
more  liberal  than  the  allurements  set  forth  in  the  Genet 
proposals.  And  if,  in  considering  the  purpose  of  the 
would-be  conqueror  to  establish  a  landed  aristocracy,  it  is 
urged  that  he  was  starting  with  a  base  lot  of  followers  on 
whom  to  bestow  such  rewards,  it  may  be  remembered  that 
aristocracies  have  been  established  on  foundations  of  simi- 
lar material. 

Volunteers  were  notified  to  rally  at  the  Saline,  east  of 
the  Sabine  River,  on  June  12.  On  the  date  set,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-eight  men  came  together,  of  whom  it  is  said 
a  majority  were  from  the  "  neutral  ground.""  That  the 
main  expectation  of  these  willing  ruffians  was  to  enjoy 
plundering  upon  a  more  liberal  scale  without  so  much 
danger  of  being  punished  for  it,  did  not  detract  from  their 
usefulness  in  the  eyes  of  Magee  and  Gutierrez.  They 
were  hardy,  fearless,  and  well  armed.  And  it  is  much 
credit  to  young  Magee's  resoluteness  that  they  were 
brought  to  submit  to  military  discipline.  An  organiza- 
tion was  effected,  and  drilling  began.  By  the  time  the 
expedition  was  ready  to  move,  the  "  Republican  Army  of 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  205 

the  North"  had  been  increased  to  about  three  hundred 
men  in  the  ranks. 

In  this  rather  motley  army  there  were  a  number  of  men  of 
recognized  respectability,  notably  Doctor  Forsyth,  of  Mis- 
sissippi, and  Captain  Ross  from  the  same  State  ;  Captain 
McKim,  who  wrote  an  account  of  the  expedition,  never 
published ;  Captain  Perry,  from  New  Orleans,  who  is  re- 
ported to  have  been  related  to  the  famous  sea-fighters  of 
that  name ;  Captain  Joseph  Taylor,  and  Colonel  Daven- 
port, already  mentioned ;  and  there  was  also  Reuben 
Kemper,  of  Baton  Rouge  notoriety,  posing  as  the  most 
desperate  hater  of  "  Spanish  tyranny "  in  America.  It 
was,  of  course,  the  ostensible  object  of  the  army  to  cooperate 
with  and  assist  the  revolutionary  patriots  in  Mexico,  but 
in  reality  it  was  the  conquest  of  Texas,  and  after  that  to 
decide,  in  accordance  with  their  strength  and  resources,  as 
to  what  should  be  done  about  Mexico. 

For  the  purpose  of  lending  the  color  of  legitimacy  to 
the  movement,  and  to  win  the  submission  of  the  republican 
sympathizers  in  Texas,  Gutierrez  was  made  the  nominal 
commander,  with  the  title  of  general.  Magee  was  next  in 
authority,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  and  was  in  reality  the 
man  who  issued  the  directions.  It  was  arranged  for  him 
to  remain  awhile  at  Natchitoches  and  attend  to  the  for- 
warding of  supplies,  while  Gutierrez  was  to  fight  his  way 
as  far  as  Spanish  Bluffs,  on  the  Trinity  River,  and  there 
await  further  orders. 


206  THE  GLORY   SEEKERS 

Bernardo  Gutierrez  was  an  impressive  talker  against 
oppression  and  in  glorification  of  the  blessings  of  liberty. 
But  when  it  came  to  action  in  the  tented  field,  he  was  not 
a  typical  revolutionary  terror.  He  was  stout,  fond  of  his 
ease,  and  fonder  still  of  good  eating  and  drinking ;  which 
qualities  in  him  should  not  be  lost  sight  of  in  estimating 
the  credit  for  the  army's  achievements,  or  the  blame  for 
its  reverses. 

The  first  engagement  occurred  at  Salitre  Prairie.  Here 
they  encountered  an  inferior  force  of  Spanish  regulars, 
which,  however,  consisted  mainly  of  Mexican  half-breeds, 
or  Indians.  The  defenders  were  worsted  and  scattered, 
leaving  a  number  dead,  although  their  exact  loss  is  not 
given.  The  conquerors  lost  two  killed  and  three  wounded, 
but  were  elated  with  their  victory.  It  augured  the  success 
of  their  enterprise ;  and  a  despatch  was  immediately  sent 
to  Magee  giving  him  the  details  of  the  encounter. 

The  defeated  Spaniards  fled  to  Nacogdoches  and  began 
the  construction  of  fortifications  overlooking  the  hamlet, 
the  principal  material  used  being  bales  of  wool,  which  were 
intended  for  the  New  Orleans  market.  But  the  invaders, 
flushed  with  their  initial  success,  were  quick  after  them, 
and  their  coming  sent  such  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the 
Spaniards  that,  although  in  a  protected  position,  they 
fled  before  a  round  had  been  fired  at  them.  Evidently 
the  American  conquerors  had  an  intimidating  way.  The 
royalists  retreated  through  the  town,  and  such  impetus 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  207 

had  the  sight  of  the  enemy  given  them,  that  they  did  not 
halt  till  they  arrived  at  Spanish  Bluffs. 

The  conquerors  had  already  made  a  valuable  capture. 
They  took  all  the  wool  at  this  place  and  sent  it  to  Magee 
at  Natchitoches,  where  it  was  sold,  and  the  proceeds  used 
in  the  purchase  of  army  supplies.  Then  the  army  con- 
tinued on  its  march  after  the  retreating  enemy.  Things 
were  coming  easy.  Besides  the  start  the  wool  gave  them, 
Colonel  Davenport,  who  had  not  been  idle,  although  not 
yet  with  the  army,  sent  forward  twenty  mule-loads  of  flour, 
bacon,  salt,  and  other  provender,  including  forty  bushels 
of  cornmeal.  Some  of  these  supplies  came  from  New 
Orleans,  where  the  colonel  operated,  and  where  the  scheme 
of  conquest  was  aided  and  abetted. 

On  June  22,  some  months  after  he  had  engaged  in  his 
grand  enterprise,  Lieutenant  Magee  resigned  his  commis- 
sion in  the  United  States  army.  He  had  deferred  this 
until  the  feasibility  of  the  expedition  seemed  assured  ;  but 
now  he  could  see  the  future  empire  surely  widening  before 
him.  He  now  set  out  with  a  few  recruits  that  he  had 
enlisted  to  join  his  army  at  Spanish  Bluffs.  He  was 
something  of  a  soldier.  At  the  crossing  of  the  Sabine 
he  left  behind  him  Captain  Joseph  Gaines  to  forward  such 
additional  volunteers  as  might  be  secured,  and  keep 
a  communication  open  with  Natchitoches  and  his  own 
country. 

When  the  invading  army  reached  Spanish  Bluffs  they 


208  THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

found  the  old  fort  —  a  mere  adobe  fortification  —  occupied 
by  about  four  hundred  of  the  enemy.  These  all  fled  at 
the  approach  of  the  conquerors,  as  they  had  done  at 
Nacogdoches.  A  considerable  quantity  of  stores  and  am- 
munition thus  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans,  who 
now  began  to  feel  themselves  invincible.  They  welcomed 
the  young  chief,  Magee,  vociferously.  Everybody  was  in 
"high  feather  and  feed.1'  The  ex-highwaymen  had  for- 
gotten their  prejudice  against  the  ex-lieutenant,  and  they 
were  all  happy  conquerors  together. 

The  army  remained  in  this  pleasant  situation  one  month. 
In  the  meantime  something  was  in  the  air  across  the  plains, 
The  Governor  of  Texas,  Don  Manuel  de  Salcedo, — 
brother  to  him  who  put  a  sudden  stop  to  Nolan's  raid,  — 
together  with  the  aid  of  ex-Governor  Cordero  and  Don 
Simon  Herrera,  Governor  of  New  Leon,  loyal  royalists  all, 
with  something  of  a  knack  at  warfare,  were  collecting  a 
royalist  force  and  fortifying  La  Bahia  and  San  Antonio. 
The  civil  war  in  Mexico  had  not  terminated  with  the 
shooting  of  Hidalgo.  Morelos,  another  patriot  priest, 
had,  as  we  have  seen,  raised  the  standard  of  independence 
in  the  Southern  provinces,  aided  by  a  rancorous  American, 
Bean.  At  the  same  time  Victoria,  another  rebel,  was 
worrying  the  Viceroy  with  an  insurrection  of  his  own  near 
Jalapa.  The  republicans  still  had  an  organization  and  a 
junta.  Calleja,  the  Alva  of  Mexico,  had  butchered  and 
applied  the  torch  wherever  independence  and  liberty  had 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  209 

been   advocated,   and   had   besieged   Morelos   at   Quatte 
Amilpas,  seventy-five  miles  from  Mexico  City. 

So  it  is  seen  that  the  royalist  government  of  Mexico 
was  not  in  need  of  going  away  from  home  for  excitement, 
and  that  Magee  had  chosen  an  opportune  time  to  strike 
for  Texas.  His  first  successes  fired  the  adventurous 
heart  all  through  the  Southwest,  and  before  he  left 
Spanish  Bluffs  his  army  had  increased  to  about  eight 
hundred.  It  was  here  that  Kemper  joined  him  with 
a  company,  and  was  commissioned  a  major.  Finally  he 
left  the  Bluffs,  marched  westward,  and  crossed  the  Colo- 
rado River.  On  the  route  his  scouts  captured  several 
Spanish  spies,  from  whom  he  learned  that  Salcedo  was 
in  command  at  La  Bahia  with  fourteen  hundred  troops, 
and  that  it  was  his  hope  to  ambush  the  Americans 
when  they  attempted  to  cross  the  Guadalupe.  Now, 
that  being  true,  and  Salcedo.  com  ing  down  the  river  to 
set  a  trap,  it  was  likely  that  La  Bahia  would  be  left  in 
a  weak  condition. 

So  the  wily  American  declined  to  go  by  the  way  where 
the  ambush  was  placed  for  him,  but  marched  his  army 
rapidly  by  a  circuitous  route  and  came  down  on  La  Bahia 
from  an  unexpected  direction.  The  place  was  found  de- 
fended by  only  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  and  they,  being 
so  greatly  overpowered,  soon  surrendered.  Here  the  "  Re- 
publican Army  of  the  North  "  found  itself  in  command  of 
the  largest  magazine  of  stores,  including  ammunition,  in 

14 


210  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

Texas,  and,  what  was  even  more  to  the  joy  of  the  troops, 
of  the  enemy's  military  chest. 

Besides  all  this,  they  captured  sixteen  pieces  of  artillery 
of  all  calibres,  among  them  being  several  of  historic  inter- 
est. They  were  those  brought  by  La  Salle  to  San  Ber- 
nardo in  1685.  The  money  in  the  chest  enabled  the 
commanders  to  pay  the  volunteers  all  back  dues.  It  now 
looked  exceedingly  promising  for  the  conquerors.  They 
had  reached  the  heart  of  Texas  without  a  reverse  or  even 
a  serious  engagement.  The  enemy  had  been  beaten  and 
outwitted.  It  was  true  they  had  not  yet  met  the  real  army 
of  defence,  and  that  the  Governor  was  near  by  with  a  su- 
perior force,  according  to  reports ;  but  they  were  in  posses- 
sion of  his  principal  stores  and  artillery,  and  the  loss  of  his 
cash  would  no  doubt  embarrass  him  seriously.  Surely 
nothing  more  satisfactory  could  have  been  hoped  for  by 
Colonel  Magee  in  his  fondest  dreams. 

Yet  already  there  was  suspicion  that  all  was  not  perfectly 
healthy  and  harmonious  in  the  much-officered  army.  It  is 
difficult  to  say  just  what.  Not  unlikely  it  was  partly  the 
conflict  of  authority  between  Gutierrez  and  Magee.  The 
Mexican  exile  was  growing  overbearing.  He  had  little 
military  skill ;  his  training  as  a  soldier  had  been  of  the 
bushwhacking  kind.  On  the  other  hand,  Magee  had  been 
educated  in  the  principal  military  academy  on  the  conti- 
nent, and  had  had  two  or  three  years'  practical  experience 
under  capable  leaders.  And  besides,  the  expedition  being 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

a  thing  of  his  own  creation,  it  is  not  to  be  marvelled  at 
that  he  was  firm  in  asserting  himself. 

Gutierrez  began  to  cultivate  exclusiveness.  He  kept 
in  his  tent  much  of  the  time,  and  had  special  attention 
given  to  the  meals  prepared  for  him.  It  is  not  remark- 
able that  the  troops,  contemplating  the  character  of  many 
of  them,  should  have  inclined  more  to  favor  the  easy 
authority  of  such  a  leader  than  the  severe  discipline 
insisted  upon  by  Magee.  Perhaps  they  were  becoming  a 
trifle  spoiled  by  prosperity.  Every  man  had  money  in 
his  pocket,  and  was  bountifully  fed.  Such  things,  and 
not  enough  hard  fighting,  are  apt  to  prove  harmful  to 
an  army.  But  they  were  soon  to  have  business  more 
strenuous. 

Salcedo,  being  now  in  narrow  straits,  had  to  do  his 
fighting  quickly  if  he  did  it  at  all.  He  attacked  the  fort 
with  his  full  strength.  The  conquerors  sallied  out  and 
drove  him  back,  meeting  with  slight  loss.  The  Governor 
then  divided  his  force  into  four  divisions,  placing  one  on 
each  bank  of  the  San  Antonio  River  above  and  below  the 
fort,  and  then  sat  down  to  a  siege.  The  Americans  erected 
bastions  of  earth  upon  which  they  mounted  the  guns  found 
in  the  fort,  and  also  three  six-pounders  which  they  brought 
with  them.  Salcedo  had  fourteen  guns,  but  mostly  light 
field-pieces. 

The  siege  lasted  three  or  four  weeks,  during  which  time 
there  was  almost  continuous  desultory  fighting,  and  two 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

general  assaults.  Then  an  unaccountable  thing  occurred. 
An  armistice  for  three  days  was  agreed  to. 

It  is  almost  certain  that  the  full  and  true  history  of  this 
enterprise,  after  the  march  from  Spanish  Bluffs,  has  never 
been  written ;  and  considering  the  lapse  of  nearly  a  cen- 
tury, and  the  large  number  of  those  who  have  delved  into 
the  subject,  it  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  it  ever  will  be. 
There  was  some  internal  dissension  in  the  army  of  invasion 
that  has  not  been  explained.  Several  things  may  be  im- 
agined, but  it  is  idle  to  guess.  The  accepted  record  shows 
that  Magee  visited  the  royalist  Governor  and  commander 
of  the  troops  opposed  to  him,  and  dined  with  him  at  his 
headquarters.  During  the  three  days  of  the  armistice  the 
two  leaders  were  in  friendly  communication ;  and  then  it 
was  announced  that  they  had  entered  into  an  agreement. 

Such  an  agreement  as  Magee  reported  to  his  army  seems 
preposterous.  It  is  mystifying.  He  had  made  a  compact 
with  Salcedo  to  withdraw  the  "  Republican  Army  of  the 
North,""  to  deliver  the  fort  of  La  Bahia  back  into  his 
hands,  and  to  march  his  army  out  without  arms  !  For 
this  it  was  stipulated  that  the  invaders  should  be  permitted 
to  return  home,  unarmed,  of  course  ;  that  they  would  not 
be  molested,  and  that  the  Governor  would  provide  them 
with  provisions  on  the  way ! 

It  is  not  beyond  reason  to  suspect  that  Magee  may  have 
become  mentally  deranged.  He  had  the  courage  to  parade 
his  troops,  when  he  made  known  to  them  the  terms  of  the 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  213 

disgraceful  agreement.  The  men  were  not  without  a  sus- 
picion of  something  unfavorable,  but  they  were  not  pre- 
pared for  this.  The  ranks  stood  as  if  petrified.  When  the 
Colonel  had  finished  his  announcement  he  asked  all  those 
who  approved  his  act  to  shoulder  arms.  Then  their  anger 
burst  forth  in  mutterings  and  imprecations.  Every  man 
of  them  resentfully  stamped  the  butt  of  his  gun  on  the 
ground,  —  not  a  rifle  went  to  the  shoulder.  Majors  and 
captains  joined  their  curses  of  protest,  —  and  Gutierrez  was 
lounging  idly  at  his  headquarters. 

Consternation  followed  confusion,  and  well  it  might. 
Magee,  apparently  confounded,  went  to  his  tent,  leaving 
the  troops  on  parade.  Kemper  blustered  about,  and  then 
went  for  Gutierrez.  He  found  him  dining  like  a  gour- 
mand. The  Mississippian  found  it  hard  to  make  him  real- 
ize the  serious  danger  of  the  situation.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  Salcedo  sent  a  note  under  a  white  flag  addressed 
to  Magee,  reminding  him  that  it  was  the  third  and  last  day 
of  the  armistice ;  that  he  expected  the  American  to  re- 
deem his  word  of  honor  and  evacuate  the  fort. 

The  note  was  taken  to  Gutierrez  without  notification  to 
Magee.  The  General  read  it,  grunted  a  few  commonplaces, 
and  sent  it  back  by  the  flag  without  an  answer.  Salcedo 
was  furious,  naturally  enough.  Immediately  he  made  a 
fierce  attack  from  all  sides,  took  the  town,  and  advanced 
threateningly  to  the  walls  of  the  fort.  Kemper,  who  had 
been  advanced  to  the  active  command,  is  reported  to 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

have  put  up  a  good  fight.  The  Americans  were  at  first 
thrown  into  much  disorder  by  the  warmth  of  the  attack. 
He  re-formed  them,  sallied  out  at  their  head,  made  a 
charge  upon  the  Spaniards,  and  routed  them  handsomely. 
He  chased  them  till  darkness  fell,  and  killed  and  wounded 
two  hundred  of  them.  The  invaders'  loss  was  very  light, 
the  number  not  being  reported. 

During  this  stirring  engagement  Augustus  Magee  re- 
mained in  his  tent,  in  what  state  of  mental  anguish  can 
only  be  inferred  from  the  deed  that  followed  soon.  At 
twelve  o'clock  that  night  he  shot  himself  and  died ! 


CHAPTER  X 


The  Invaders  Aggressive  —  Battle  of  Rosalis  —  Gachwpins  badly  De- 
feated —  Victorious  Army  becomes  Demoralized  —  Viceroy's  Forces 
Annihilate  it. 


ND  so  the  daring 
young  West  Point- 
er's star  of  destiny, 
which  for  a  brief 
period  appeared  in 
a  refulgent  glow, 
suddenly  set  in  dark- 
ness and  mystery. 
One  might  have  ex- 
pected, in  following 
the  story  of  his  haz- 
ard, that  when  he 
found  himself  repu- 
diated and  his  ac- 
tion spurned,  and 
saw  his  troops  fly  at  the  enemy,  he  would  have  sprung  to 
the  front  and  sought  death  in  the  charge.  Nothing  in  his 
life  so  discredited  him  as  the  circumstances  of  his  leaving 
it.  He  seems  to  have  died  unlamented  by  all  those  whom 
he  had  rallied  to  the  enterprise. 


216  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

There  was  so  much  of  mystery  in  his  taking  off  that  one 
of  the  earliest  chroniclers  of  the  campaign,  instead  of  in- 
vestigating the  matter  exhaustively,  adopted  an  easy  solu- 
tion by  attributing  his  death  to  quick  consumption.  And 
this  silly  explanation  has  been  quoted  without  question 
by  a  number  of  subsequent  compilers.  Mr.  Yoakum, 
whose  history  of  Texas  deserves  precedence  over  all  others 
for  the  period  it  covers,  states  that  the  young  adventurer 
died  by  his  own  hand,  and  regretted  he  had  not  further 
testimony  concerning  the  tragedy.  It  is  not  an  important 
event  in  history,  the  passing  of  one  rash  glory  chaser.  But 
on  his  attempt  hinged  great  things  for  Texas,  and  the 
swath  he  cut  when  he  first  entered  her  plains  presaged  suc- 
cess. With  harmony  in  his  camp  —  his  eight  hundred  en- 
thusiastic as  one — it  is  not  improbable  that  he  would  have 
shaped  events  in  the  far  Southwest  in  a  different  course 
from  that  they  subsequently  took. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  accounts  of  Magee's  life  up  to 
this  venture  that  indicates  his  affliction  with  any  danger- 
ous malady.  His  undertaking  was  not  that  of  a  man  on 
the  verge  of  the  grave  with  tuberculosis.  It  is  preposter- 
ous to  assume  that  it  might  have  developed  during  the  two 
or  three  months  of  the  campaign,  in  that  climate,  and  in 
the  Autumn.  It  is  most  likely  that  his  fatal  pistol  shot 
was  the  result  of  a  broken  heart.  May  he  not  have  seen 
that  the  power  he  expected  to  wield  through  the  success 
of  the  enterprise  was  likely  to  be  wrested  from  him  by  his 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  217 

subordinates  and  debased  from  his  lofty  purposes  ?  May 
he  not  have  seen,  all  too  late,  the  wretched  mistake  he  had 
made  in  resigning  his  commission  in  the  army  he  had 
entered  with  such  honorable  hopes  ? 

His  agreement  with  Salcedo  could  not  have  been  through 
fear,  or  because  of  the  fancied  helplessness  of  his  position. 
It  is  probable  that  his  army,  in  the  proper  morale,  could 
have  defeated  and  scattered  the  besiegers,  just  as  it  did 
defeat  and  disperse  them  when  their  ire  was  aroused,  even 
before  Magee's  death.  There  was  never  an  hour  that  the 
royalists  could  have  stood  before  a  general  charge  of  the 
invaders.  The  theory  of  fear  is  out  of  consideration. 
And  with  the  testimony  now  in,  there  seems  to  be  no  ra- 
tional explanation  of  the  strange  occurrence  except  on  the 
assumption  of  the  unfortunate  Magee^  sudden  dementia. 

But  although  the  originator  of  the  expedition  was  dead, 
the  army  had  a  task  before  it  that  was  to  test  its  mettle. 
After  the  retreat  of  Salcedo  it  marched  on  San  Antonio. 
Its  numbers  had  been  increased  by  several  companies, 
directed  by  Captain  Gaines  at  the  Sabine,  and  now  there 
were  about  twelve  hundred  men  in  the  Army  of  the  North. 
This  included  Mexican  insurgents  who,  however,  were  not 
counted  by  the  Americans  as  of  much  efficiency.  Kemper 
had  the  chief  command  in  the  field,  —  Gutierrez  was,  in 
fact,  a  figurehead  to  dupe  the  natives. 

The  conquerors  met  the  Spaniards  at  Rosalis,  a  place 
now  unidentified  a  few  miles  from  San  Antonio.  Salcedo 


218  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

made  a  vain  attempt  here  to  ambush  the  oncoming  enemy. 
That  was  his  favorite  mode  of  warfare.  He  concealed  most 
of  his  army  in  a  chaparral,  but  Kemper  was  too  crafty  to 
run  headlong  into  the  hornets'  nest.  He  sent  his  contin- 
gent of  natives  to  the  front,  but  at  the  first  fire  from  the 
hidden  royalists  they  scampered  back.  Having  located  the 
enemy,  Kemper  now  formed  his  lines  under  order  of  battle. 

It  is  said  the  Americans  carried  out  the  instructions 
with  such  nerve  and  coolness  that  the  Spaniards  were  dis- 
mayed, and  fled  from  their  position  fairly  before  the  charge 
was  made.  But  they  did  not  escape.  The  retreat  to  San 
Antonio  developed  into  a  slaughter.  The  native  insurgents 
with  the  Americans,  mainly  Indians,  now  became  valiant 
warriors.  With  the  enemy  on  the  run  they  fell  upon  him 
and  indulged  in  rank  butchery.  Few  prisoners  were  taken. 
Salcedo  is  reported  to  have  lost  nearly  one  thousand  of  his 
troops. 

This  historic  battle  of  Rosalis  can  hardly  be  regarded  as 
a  battle  at  all.  It  was  a  chase,  a  rout,  a  killing.  It  has 
historic  value,  however,  as  being  the  first  engagement  to 
show  the  vast  superiority  as  fighters  of  American  troops 
over  the  Mexican  Spaniards.  The  Americans  now  had 
deeper  contempt  than  before  for  the  "  Gachupins,"  as  the 
Texas  Spaniards  were  termed.  From  this  name,  engage- 
ments of  this  campaign  are  known  as  the  Gachupin 
battles. 

After  his  disastrous  retreat  Salcedo  reached  San  Antonio 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  219 

with  less  than  half  his  army.  The  Americans  surrounded 
him  and  sent  a  demand  for  his  surrender.  He  returned 
no  reply.  A  second  flag  was  sent,  this  time  with  what 
amounted  to  a  peremptory  order  for  him  to  come  under  safe 
conduct  to  the  American  headquarters  to  arrange  terms. 
To  this  he  responded  by  appearing  in  the  conquerors' 
camp.  He  first  offered  his  sword  to  Captain  Taylor,  who 
referred  him  with  it  to  Major  Kemper.  But  Kemper  had 
enough  respect  for  the  nominal  commander-in-chief  not 
to  take  it  himself,  and  rather  curtly  told  him  to  present 
the  blade  to  Gutierrez.  But  this  was  too  much.  The 
Governor  refused  to  surrender  in  person  to  a  Mexican 
insurrectionary  outlaw.  He  contemptuously  stuck  his 
sword  in  the  ground  before  Gutierrez's  tent  and  left  it 
there.  The  luxurious  commander  had  it  brought  in  to 
him  —  he  was  not  squeamish  about  how  things  came. 

The  surrender  was  complete.  The  Americans  occupied 
the  town,  and  took  possession  of  everything  —  a  habit 
they  formed  when  they  first  entered  the  province.  They 
marched  to  the  since  famous  Alamo,  where  they  found 
seventeen  American  prisoners,  whom  they  liberated. 
Besides  the  prisoners  they  got  a  lot  of  valuable  stores 
and  ammunition,  and  barrels  of  money.  There  was  so 
much  booty  in  the  sack  that  each  happy  conqueror 
received,  in  the  general  distribution  of  the  spoils,  a  gra- 
tuity of  $15,  a  suit  of  clothes,  and  an  order  for  two  horses 
or  mules  out  of  the  public  caballada.  As  for  the  Indians, 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

each  dark-skinned  rascal  was  given  two  dollars'  worth  of 
vermilion,  and  other  presents  to  the  fictitious  value  of 
$130  —  gewgaws  were  no  doubt  inventoried  high  —  and 
sent  away  blessing  the  Americanos.  Such  bedecking  and 
painting  up  as  there  was  when  they  arrived  at  their  various 
homes  had  never  been  seen  before  in  Texas. 

Having  appropriated  all  the  valuables,  the  invading 
host  set  the  prisoners  at  liberty — it  was  too  much  trouble 
and  expense  to  feed  them.  Some  of  the  troops  thus  re- 
leased, seeing  how  good  it  was  to  be  conquerors,  joined  the 
buccaneers.  Others  went  to  their  distant  homes,  begging 
their  way  as  they  could.  Salcedo  and  his  staff  officers 
were  paroled. 

General  Gutierrez  now  began  to  assume  real  authority. 
After  some  days  he  received  a  communication  which  he 
read  to  the  other  officers.  This  advised  him  that  a  couple 
of  brigs  were  to  sail  for  Matagorda  Bay  within  a  short 
time ;  and  the  General  suggested  that  it  would  be  safer  to 
send  Salcedo  and  staff  to  New  Orleans,  lest  they  take  Span- 
ish leave  and  rejoin  the  royalists  in  Mexico.  Of  course, 
there  was  not  much  likelihood  of  this  happening ;  and 
Kemper,  Taylor,  and  the  other  American  leaders  would  not 
have  cared  much  if  it  had.  But  they  complacently  ac- 
quiesced in  Gutierrez's  desire. 

Under  this  order  Governor  Salcedo,  ex-Governor  Her- 
rera,  ex-Governor  Cordero,  and  fifteen  other  officers  were 
assembled  and  informed  of  the  decision  concerning  them. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Gutierrez  picked  the  guard  to  escort  them  to  the  Bay 
from  among  the  native  insurgents  that  were  with  him,  and 
the  whole  were  placed  in  command  of  a  Captain  Delgado. 
This  was  a  villanous-looking  fellow,  who  had  distinguished 
himself  with  slaughtering  laggards  in  the  running  fight  from 
Rosalis.  Some  of  the  Americans  suspected  that  something 
devilish  was  being  planned,  and  it  is  not  to  their  credit 
that  they  took  no  steps  to  ascertain  what  it  was  or  to  pre- 
vent it.  Their  suspicions  were  only  too  horribly  verified. 

Delgado  started  with  his  captive  chieftains,  but  at  a 
point  only  one  and  one-half  miles  away  he  halted.  That 
was  as  far  as  he  expected  to  go.  Here  he  had  his  pris- 
oners stripped  of  all  their  belongings.  Then  he  ordered 
the  guard  to  tie  them  securely.  When  this  was  done  the 
wretches  set  to  work  and  deliberately  butchered  the  help- 
less men  by  cutting  their  throats ! 

Now  the  Americans  composing  the  Army  of  the  North 
were  for  the  most  part  a  pretty  well  hardened  horde  of 
invaders,  but  they  would  not  sanction  that.  The  leaders 
got  together  in  an  angry  council,  and  the  talk  that  General 
Gutierrez  heard  must  have  made  him  shiver.  He  was 
ordered  under  arrest.  To  this  he  objected  that  it  hurt  his 
feelings.  The  creature  really  seemed  astonished  that  a 
few  throat-cuttings  like  that  should  create  such  a  swell  of 
indignation.  They  locked  him  up,  caught  Delgado,  put 
shackles  on  him,  and  threw  him  into  prison.  Both  were 
tried  by  court-martial,  but  by  that  time  the  anger  over 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

the  dastardly  act  had  somewhat  cooled.  And  perhaps 
there  was  underground  influence  set  at  work.  At  any 
rate,  Delgado  made  a  strong  plea  of  justification,  asserting 
that  Salcedo  had  treacherously  murdered  his  father,  who 
had  been  captured  after  the  fall  of  Hidalgo  ;  and  he  was 
acquitted.  Gutierrez  could  not  urge  any  such  extenua- 
tion. His  justification  was  general  —  the  crimes  the 
victims  had  committed  against  liberty. 

But  Kemper  and  his  fellows  had  heard  a  lot  of  that  be- 
fore, and  it  did  not  quite  go  with  them.  However,  they 
were  very  lenient.  They  dismissed  Gutierrez  in  disgrace 
on  the  counts  of  treachery  and  unwonted  cruelty. 

The  situation  now  is  interesting  to  the  observer  who 
figures  on  what  is  likely  to  happen  next.  Here  is  an  army 
of  conquest,  victorious  and  saucy,  that  has  marched  tri- 
umphantly into  the  heart  of  the  country  it  had  set  out  to 
subjugate.  It  is  greedy,  and  assumes  the  privilege  of 
license  as  a  foreordained  prerogative.  Besides,  it  has  had 
demoralizing  examples.  With  the  exception  of  Magee,  its 
leaders  have  not  been  military  men.  He  was  the  only  one 
who  insisted  upon  proper  military  organization  and  disci- 
pline. Kemper  and  Taylor,  and  practically  all  of  the 
others,  had  more  the  frontier  or  guerilla  idea  of  warfare. 
A  spirit  of  wild  fraternity  imbued  them. 

The  first  discord  among  the  leaders  had  its  unfavorable 
effects  on  the  men,  and  with  the  death  of  the  only  disci- 
plinarian of  the  staff  all  restraint  vanished.  For  Gutierrez 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  223 

no  one  had  any  real  respect,  and  his  deposition  merely  had 
the  tendency  to  obliterate  respect  for  any  kind  of  authority. 
It  is  a  striking  fact  that  not  a  man,  either  among  the  cap- 
tains or  in  the  ranks,  now  exhibited  the  least  comprehen- 
sion of  Magee's  motive.  Texas  was,  for  the  time  being  at 
least,  subjugated.  The  army  of  defence  was  annihilated. 
Probably  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  had  submitted,  or 
were  ready  to  submit  without  a  protest,  to  the  conquerors. 
And  yet  no  step  was  taken  by  the  Americans  to  establish 
themselves.  They  organized  no  government.  They  did 
not  seem  to  care  about  perpetuating  their  possession  of 
the  country.  Probably  not  one  among  them  was  equal  to 
so  much  statesmanship. 

They  had  satisfied  their  ambition  to  beat  the  Spaniards, 
whom  they  disliked.  What  sufficed  more,  they  had  seized 
all  the  booty  in  sight,  and,  much  like  a  lot  of  vikings,  they 
were  ready  to  rest  on  their  laurels. 

But  affairs  could  not  long  remain  in  status  quo.  The 
troops  entered  upon  unrestrained  dissipation.  They  were 
under  pay,  and  no  one  could  tell  where  the  money  was  to 
come  from  to  meet  the  obligations.  Seeing  the  bad  state 
of  things,  Kemper  and  Ross  deserted  and  returned  home. 
Captain  Perry  succeeded  to  the  principal  command,  if 
command  it  could  be  called.  And  while  gambling  and 
drinking  and  all  sorts  of  license  was  going  on,  news  came 
that  another  royalist  army  was  on  its  way  from  the 
South. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Under  this  stimulus  the  marauders  steadied  up  for  a 
while,  but  fairly  before  order  had  been  reestablished,  the 
enemy  came  upon  them.  To  make  the  situation  more 
precarious  the  natives  showed  an  unfriendly  disposition. 
They  had  been  subject  to  spoliation  and  outrage,  and  now 
that  a  prospect  appeared  for  ridding  themselves  of  the 
foreigners  they  were  ready  to  assist.  They  had  seen  and 
felt  quite  enough  of  the  blessings  of  freedom  as  bestowed 
by  the  Republican  Army  of  the  North.  In  the  face  of 
this,  and  with  the  hope  of  placating  the  republican  sym- 
pathizers, or  those  who  had  been  such,  Gutierrez  was 
recalled  and  reinstated  in  the  general  command. 

Thereupon  the  Mexicans  and  Gachupin  allies  of  the  in- 
vaders, about  seven  hundred  strong,  organized  themselves 
into  a  separate  corps,  of  which  a  bold,  untamed  varlet 
named  Manchaco  was  made  colonel,  the  real  command, 
however,  being  in  Major  Gaines.  The  latter  had  now 
joined  the  army ;  in  fact,  recruits  kept  arriving  constantly, 
the  news  of  the  victories  over  the  royalists  having  reached 
the  Southern  States. 

The  second  royalist  army  was  under  command  of  Gen- 
eral Elisondo.  He  came  with  about  fifteen  hundred  reg- 
ulars, besides  a  considerable  auxiliary  of  volunteers.  His 
approach  was  signalized  by  the  capture  of  the  outpost  and 
grand  caballada  of  the  conquerors,  by  which  he  secured  a 
large  part  of  their  horses.  But  that  was  the  extent  of 
his  victory.  He  had  the  fatal  habit  of  delay.  Camping 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  225 

a  half  mile  from  the  town,  instead  of  attacking  in  the 
flush  of  his  first  success  he  constructed  two  bastions 
"  crowning  the  summit  of  a  ridge  of  gentle  ascent  near  the 
river  Alizan,"  behind  which  his  army  rested. 

The  republican  allies  marched  out  before  this  place  late 
one  night,  rested  on  their  arms  till  break  of  day,  and  then, 
while  the  enemy  was  at  matins,  following  the  Spanish 
custom,  they  set  upon  him  like  a  whirlwind.  The  second 
army  of  royalists  may  have  been  of  better  courage  than  the 
first,  but  it  met  almost  as  severe  a  defeat.  The  invaders 
were  of  a  more  vigorous  race.  They  were  still  masters 
of  what  they  had  taken,  and  might  even  yet  have  made 
themselves  permanently  so,  if  their  wisdom  had  been  equal 
to  their  valor.  Elisondo  lost  in  killed  about  four  hun- 
dred, his  total  loss  being  near  one  thousand.  The  Ameri- 
cans and  allies  had  less  than  one  hundred  killed. 

Mexico  was  now  thoroughly  alarmed,  and  the  Spanish 
authorities  excited  to  more  active  efforts  to  stop  the  con- 
quest. The  viceroy,  Venegas,  acted  with  energy.  A  third 
army  was  organized  and  sent  to  Texas.  It  was  commanded 
by  General  Arredondo,  a  soldier  who  had  shown  marked 
ability  in  suppressing  insurrection.  He  was  provided  with 
some  two  thousand  of  the  ablest  regular  troops  in  the 
viceroyalty,  besides  which  he  had  nearly  an  equal  number 
of  volunteers,  his  total  strength  being  almost  four  thou- 
sand men. 

At  about  this  time  another  striking  figure  appeared 

15 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

among  the  conquerors.  It  was  General  Jose  Alvarez 
Toledo,  a  native  of  Cuba,  of  a  distinguished  family,  but 
an  exile  because  of  his  revolutionary  "  feeling."  For  some 
time  he  had  been  in  New  Orleans  raising  recruits  and  se- 
curing supplies  for  the  "army  of  liberation."  He  arrived 
at  San  Antonio  late  in  July,  1813.  Gutierrez  having  again 
been  dismissed,  the  leaders  fearing  his  treachery,  Toledo 
was  elected  to  the  chief  command.  He  was  a  man  of 
higher  character  and  more  ability  than  his  predecessor. 

Hardly  had  Toledo  become  generalissimo  when  the  roy- 
alist legion  under  Arredondo  approached.  Toledo  ad- 
vanced to  meet  him  with  about  eight  hundred  and  fifty 
Americans  under  Perry  and  Taylor,  and  about  fifteen 
hundred  Mexicans,  or  Gachupins,  under  command  of 
Manchaco.  It  is  reported  that  the  latter  was  jealous  of 
the  Cuban,  and  resented  his  being  given  the  supreme 
command.  There  was  blood  on  the  banners  of  the  allies 
when  they  formed  for  battle  that  day,  and  good  fortune 
deserted  the  American  conquerors.  Enervated  by  con- 
tinued excesses,  and  grown  rash  with  easy  victories,  they 
went  into  the  engagement  reckless  of  the  authority  of 
the  commander. 

Manchaco  started  the  disaster.  He  occupied  the  left 
position  and,  against  Toledo's  orders,  it  is  declared,  ad- 
vanced into  an  ambuscade  which  had  been  laid  for  him. 
His  corps  of  Texans  was  soon  disorganized.  Toledo  tried 
to  effect  a  temporary  retreat,  but  the  Americans  had  now 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  227 

got  into  the  fray  and  were  intractable.  There  was  a 
furious  struggle  for  some  hours,  but  the  Mexicans  did  not 
stampede  this  time.  Their  phalanxes  were  too  solid. 
Their  artillery  mowed  down  the  oncoming  allies,  and  when 
the  day  was  done  Toledo  had  lost  his  first  battle,  and  there 
was  no  longer  an  American  invading  army.  This  battle 
of  the  Medina  occurred  August  18,  1813. 

To  complete  the  disaster  Manchaco  and  his  followers 
went  over  to  the  enemy.  He  gave  Arredondo  full  infor- 
mation as  to  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  province,  and  acted 
with  him  in  pursuing  and  punishing  the  insurgents.  The 
Americans,  those  who  survived  the  battle  of  the  Medina, 
struck  for  home  from  the  fatal  field.  At  Spanish  Bluffs, 
one  of  the  scenes  of  their  victories,  seventy  or  eighty  of 
them  were  captured.  Their  fate  was  in  keeping  with  the 
mediaeval  style  of  warfare  which  their  irruption  in  the  prov- 
ince had  made  common.  They  were  marched  to  an  island 
in  the  Trinity.  Here  a  long  and  deep  grave,  or  trench,  was 
dug.  Across  this  pieces  of  timber  were  laid.  The  pris- 
oners were  tied  and  set  upon  these  cross-pieces,  by  tens. 
As  they  were  shot  they  tumbled  into  the  common  grave. 

Only  ninety-three  of  the  American  invaders  succeeded  in 
regaining  Natchitoches,  among  whom  were  Captains  Perry, 
Bullard,  and  Taylor,  the  latter  badly  wounded.  Even 
while  they  were  escaping  from  Texas  they  met  volunteers 
on  the  road  to  join  in  the  supposedly  complete  conquest. 
And  Texas  had  been  canqttered.  Magee's  plans  had  worked 


228  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

out  well  to  that  extent.  If  he  had  been  a  Bernadotte  or  a 
Jackson,  with  the  strength  of  command  of  either  of  them, 
he  would  doubtless  have  dominated  the  short-sighted 
marauders  around  him  and  made  his  conquest  secure. 

It  is  characteristic  of  our  national  self-esteem  that  more 
than  one  historian  of  these  events  has  attributed  the  de- 
feat of  the  Americans  to  the  treachery  of  Manchaco, 
ignoring  the  ruthless,  predatory  character  of  the  expedi- 
tion, and  the  entire  lack  of  administrative  or  constructive 
ability  of  anybody  connected  with  it,  at  least  after  Magee's 
death. 

It  is  one  of  the  whimsicalities  in  our  histories  —  except- 
ing a  few  of  the  most  critical  ones  —  that  the  leaders  who 
survived  this  predatory  expedition  have  been  honored  as 
heroes  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  rather  than  censured  as  plain 
buccaneers,  which  they  really  were.  Foote,  as  previously 
cited,  lauded  Kemper  as  a  liberator,  —  but  then,  he  consid- 
ered Aaron  Burr  a  liberator  also.  It  is  probable  that 
during  the  remainder  of  their  lives  they  posed  as  veterans 
who  had  battled  in  a  sacred  cause.  In  fact,  it  stands  in 
the  records  that  Ross,  one  of  those  who  quit  when  there 
was  no  more  booty  in  sight,  who  lived  in  Mississippi  long 
afterward,  went  in  1830  (after  their  republic  was  estab- 
lished), on  a  journey  to  Mexico  where  he  solicited  a  pension 
for  his  alleged  military  services  in  their  revolutionary  cause. 
Whether  he  received  it  or  not,  it  indicates  the  audacity  of 
his  pretensions. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

The  tale  of  this  most  successful,  as  it  was  also  the 
largest  and  most  disastrous,  buccaneering  expedition  of 
Americans  against  the  Spanish  possessions  would  not  be 
all  told  if  omission  were  made  of  its  awful  consequences. 
The  Spaniards  were  highly  incensed  against  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Texas  for  their  complicity  in  the  attempted 
revolution,  as  well  as  for  their  republican  sympathies. 
Arredondo  marched  into  San  Antonio  from  the  victo- 
rious field,  and  immediately  seized  some  seven  hundred 
peaceable  citizens  who  had,  according  to  information  given 
by  the  renegade  Manchaco,  their  former  neighbor,  wel- 
comed the  "liberators.11  He  confined  three  hundred  of 
them  in  one  house,  which  was  tightly  closed,  one  hot 
August  night,  and  eighteen  of  them  died  by  suffocation. 
"  From  day  to  day  the  others  were  shot  without  any  form 
of  trial.'"  During  this  time  his  troops  were  scouring  the 
province,  capturing  and  killing  Republicans  wherever 
found.  A  large  company  of  women  and  children,  widows 
and  orphans  of  these  victims,  were  driven  into  San  Antonio 
long  distances  on  foot. 

But  this  did  not  appease  the  vindictive  Arredondo. 
He  had  a  prison-barrack  built  at  San  Antonio  for  women 
—  mostly  widows  of  his  vengeance.  In  this  he  penned  up 
five  hundred  females,  all  classes  and  conditions,  young  and 
old,  the  refined  and  the  vile,  and  worked  them  together. 
He  jocosely  called  it  "  the  Quinta."  Their  sentence  was  to 
convert  twenty-four  bushels  of  corn  into  tortillas  each  day 


230  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

for  his  army.  The  property  of  all  his  victims  was  con- 
fiscated. San  Antonio  was  indeed  mightily  stricken. 
The  Americans  had  despoiled  and  corrupted  her,  but  now 
was  the  climax  of  her  misery  ! 

Many  of  the  hard  characters  who  escaped  from  the  dis- 
asters of  the  Medina  stole  away  and  took  up  their  abode 
in  the  "  neutral  ground,"  a  retreat  for  desperadoes  which 
the  nations  had  not  yet  been  unkind  enough  to  abolish ; 
and  thus  a  nucleus  was  preserved  for  further  hostile 
organizations. 


CHAPTER  XI 


Colonel  Perry's  Exploit  —  Joins  with  Aury  and  Mina — The  Trium- 
virate Descends  on  Mexico  —  Splits  on  the  Rock  of  Jealousy  —  Mina 
Captured  —  Perry  Returns  to  Texas  —  Dies  in  Battle. 

OLONEL  PERRY 

had  not  yet  had 
enough  of  conquest. 
It  is  somewhat  of  a 
marvel  how  the  ad- 
venturers of  his 
stamp  managed  in 
that  day  to  secure 
backing  for  their 
enterprises,  —  upon 
what  means  they 
lived  while  putting 
their  plans  into 
operation.  Perry 
must  have  come  out 
of  Texas,  on  the  run  from  the  Medina,  without  anything 
but  his  bedraggled  uniform.  Yet  he  at  once  engaged 
in  another  enterprise  against  the  Spanish  possessions. 
Of  this  one  he  was  the  impresario.  The  measure  of 
success  that  had  been  attained  by  the  Magee  expedition 


232  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

encouraged  the  belief  that  another  attempt  would  reap 
permanent  benefits.  To  be  sure,  no  leader  who  had  been 
in  that  army  had  any  chance  of  ever  winning ;  if  he  could 
not  seize  the  opportunity  that  went  begging  at  San 
Antonio,  after  conquest  had  been  effected,  there  was  noth- 
ing in  him  to  count  on  afterwards.  But  he  could  not 
take  that  measure  of  himself. 

As  in  the  case  of  Magee,  he  sought  to  attract  the  dis- 
affected of  Texas  and  Mexico  by  employing  as  ostensible 
leaders  exiled  revolutionary  "patriots.""  Of  these  he 
formed  a  cluster,  the  centre  brilliant  of  which  was  Jose 
Alvarez  Toledo.  Of  his  American  adherents,  the  prin- 
cipal one  was  John  Robinson,  an  adventurer  who  had  for 
some  time  plied  about  New  Orleans.  Robinson  seems  to 
have  done  a  good  deal  of  coining  trouble  on  his  own 
account  without  succeeding  in  putting  much  of  it  into 
circulation. 

The  Perry  expedition  began  to  take  form  soon  after  the 
battle  of  New  Orleans,  in  which,  by  the  way,  Kemper  had 
arrived  home  from  Texas  in  time  to  serve  "  with  distinc- 
tion." But  the  United  States  authorities,  having  received 
urgent  complaints  from  Spain  on  account  of  the  American 
raids  into  her  territory,  got  the  scent  of  this  one  in  time 
to  nip  it  in  the  bud.  Probably  they  would  never  have 
heard  of  it  if  Perry  had  not  advertised  it  prominently  in 
the  papers.  All  those  instigated  in  it,  save  Perry,  were 
indicted  in  the  United  States  District  Court  for  violation 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  233 

of  the  neutrality  laws.  Why  the  chief  promoter  was  not 
included  is  not  explained. 

It  is  worthy  of  remarking,  in  this  connection,  that,  so 
far  as  any  records  of  the  events  indicate,  not  one  of  those 
who  were  implicated  in  the  Magee  expedition  —  and  who 
lived  to  return  —  was  ever  called  to  account  in  any  way 
for  it  by  the  Federal  or  any  State  government. 

It  is  reported  that  Perry,  although  not  apprehended, 
was  vigilantly  watched.  Perhaps  that  is  why  he  went 
over  into  that  paradise  of  the  lawless,  the  "neutral 
ground."  But  for  some  reason  he  did  not  rally  the  old 
clan  around  him.  He  crossed  the  Sabine  into  Texas,  and 
having  concluded  to  try  his  fortunes  now  by  water,  went 
down  to  the  Gulf  and  gathered  a  tiny  armada.  This  he 
manned  with  a  crew  of  desperadoes,  spiced  for  deviltry  on 
either  land  or  sea. 

Fate  was  against  this  precious  lot,  for  they  had  hardly 
set  sail  for  Mexico  when  they  encountered  a  storm  which 
blew  them  back  and  disabled  their  frail  craft.  Perry  was 
undaunted.  By  communication  with  friends  in  Texas  he 
learned  that  Arredondo  had  returned  home,  and  that, 
Texas  having  been  so  fearfully  reduced  by  his  punish- 
ments, only  two  or  three  hundred  troops  were  now  on 
guard  in  the  province. 

At  this  time  Luis  de  Aury,  "  commander  of  the  com- 
bined fleets  of  the  republics  of  Mexico,  New  Grenada, 
Venezuela,  and  La  Plata,"  consisting  of  a  dozen  or  fifteen 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

crazy  vessels,  had  occupied  Galveston.  It  is  needless  to 
explain  that  the  republics  named  were  in  the  revolutionary 
stage,  and  prospective.  Aury  had  a  great  command  —  on 
paper,  —  but  his  war  vessels  were  insignificant  tubs,  most 
of  which,  for  safety,  needed  to  keep  within  shore  view. 
They  were  manned  by  vagrant  refugees,  mostly  mulattoes, 
the  crews  leavened  with  a  few  pirates  from  Barataria,  the 
chief  business  centre  of  Lafitte  and  his  merry  outlaws. 

Aury  was  from  New  Grenada.  It  must  be  believed 
that  he  was  a  man  of  some  ability  and,  while  careless  as  to 
the  instruments  he  worked  with,  was  sincere  in  his 
endeavors  to  overthrow  Spanish  rule  in  America.  At 
Galveston  this  man  set  up  a  government,  and  his  followers 
elected  him  civil  and  military  Governor  of  Texas.  No 
sooner  had  he  taken  his  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  new  repub- 
lic of  Mexico  (which  was  somewhere  in  the  saddle  among 
the  Mexican  mountains)  and  devotion  to  liberty,  than  he 
started  his  fleet  out  privateering  on  Spanish  commerce. 
Probably  a  bolder  and  more  desperate  lot  of  "  privateers  " 
never  scouted  the  gulf,  for  with  their  weak  armament  they 
practically  cleared  it  of  Spanish  merchantmen. 

To  Aury,  man  of  many  titles  and  much  theoretic 
authority,  came  Perry,  and,  of  course,  was  cordially  wel- 
comed. Then  another  and  still  more  famous  man  than 
either  of  the  two  joined  them.  He  was  Xavier  Mina,  an 
exiled  Spanish  officer,  who  fled  before  the  conquering 
French  and  reached  Baltimore  with  fifteen  brother  officers. 


XAVIER  MINA 
Spanish-American  revolutionary  adventurer 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  235 

Those  were  great  days  for  exiled  chivalry  and  homeless 
patriotism.  Mina  also  brought  some  money.  Toledo  no 
sooner  heard  of  this  than  he  hied  him  to  Baltimore,  and 
made  up  to  Mina  with  plans  and  specifications.  Being  a 
brother  aristocrat,  he  obtained  a  respectful  hearing,  with 
the  result  that  together  they  began  immediately  to  fit  out 
a  squadron  with  the  object  of  conquering  Florida  and 
setting  up  a  separate  and  "  free  "  government. 

September  16,  1816,  they  were  ready,  and  sailed  with 
two  hundred  troops  on  board,  and  plenty  of  arms  and  muni- 
tions. But  this  expedition  met  with  the  same  evil  luck 
that  Perry's  did  out  of  the  Sabine  bayous.  The  two 
hopeful  leaders  were  shipwrecked,  quarrelled,  and  soon 
afterward  Toledo,  probably  receiving  a  tempting  offer, 
went  over  to  the  new  King  of  Spain.  Their  undertaking 
would  have  come  to  naught,  for  Florida  was  soon  after- 
ward invaded  by  General  Jackson,  and  a  year  or  two  later 
was  ceded  to  the  United  States.  So  this  scheme  being 
frustrated,  Mina  got  his  ships  and  tackle  to  rights  and 
sailed  away  to  Galveston  to  join  the  foes  of  oppression 
there. 

In  the  meanwhile  Aury  had  been  conducting  business 
not  very  creditable  to  one  of  his  pretensions.  His  "  priva- 
teers "  had  not  confined  their  depredations  on  the  Gulf  to 
Spanish  craft,  but  had  scuttled  several  vessels  engaged  in 
legitimate  trade  under  the  American  flag.  The  Spanish 
slavers  they  captured  were  the  best  revenue  producers. 


236  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Instead  of  liberating  the  slaves,  as  a  man  professing  such 
holy  devotion  to  liberty  might  have  been  expected  to  do, 
Aury  effected  an  arrangement  with  the  Baratarians, 
through  which  he  was  enabled  to  get  them  into  the 
United  States  markets.  The  general  scheme,  however, 
was  not  original  with  Aury.  It  had  been  worked  before 
him.  James  Bowie  was  a  prominent  slave-dealer.  He 
"stood  weH""  with  the  planters.  He  also  was  in  good 
standing  with  Lafitte,  the  King  of  the  Baratarians, 
pirates  who  took  their  name  from  the  island  they 
infested.  Lafitte  did  a  "  regular  "  business  —  taking  any 
slow  ship.  But  the  negroes  could  not  be  disposed  of  in 
Mexico,  so  the  pirates  would  run  them  into  the  United 
States  by  water  through  Bayou  La  Fourche,  and  thence 
by  land  from  Point  Boliver  and  Alexandria.  Here  Bowie, 
and  other  speculative  purchasers,  would  drive  them  by 
night.  The  trick  now  was  to  take  them  to  a  custom- 
house officer  and  have  them  denounced  as  imported  con- 
traband. The  Africans  immediately  would  be  sold  under 
the  law  and  repurchased  by  the  speculator,  who  as 
"  reformer  "  received  half  the  purchase  money.  Then  the 
human  chattels  could  be  resold,  legally,  to  the  planters. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  importation  of  slaves 
into  the  United  States  had  for  several  years  been  pro- 
hibited by  law. 

Aury  was  judge  of  his  own  court  of  admiralty,  and 
assessed  the  value  of  negroes  handled  by  his  men.     The 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  237 

price  at  Galveston  was  $1.00  per  pound,  or  $140  per  head, 
prime. 

So  Perry,  Aury,  and  Mina  came  together  for  the  general 
purpose  of  warring  on  Spain.  But  their  plans  were  not 
the  same.  Perry  meant  conquest  —  other  details  to  be 
arranged  later.  Mina  now  determined  to  aid  the  new  re- 
public in  Mexico.  Aury  seemed  to  centre  his  ambition  on 
Texas,  and  to  feel  that  he  was  establishing  an  ideal  re- 
public on  the  Texan  coast.  He  had  now  three  or  four 
hundred  men.  Perry  was  stationed  on  the  mainland 
with  about  one  hundred.  Mina  brought  about  two  hun- 
dred. Although  they  had  leagued  themselves  in  the  same 
cause,  all  three  claimed  equal  authority  and  independent 
command. 

After  much  discussion  and  negotiation  they  decided 
upon  an  expedition  by  water  to  Mexico,  on  which  they 
embarked  with  their  allied  forces  April  6,  1817.  They 
landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Satander  River  and  captured 
the  small  town  of  Soto  la  Marina.  The  place  really  had 
no  defence.  But  already  there  was  discord  in  the  triumvi- 
rate. Each  was  jealous  of  the  other.  Aury  halted,  and 
returned  to  Galveston.  His  defection  greatly  weakened 
the  invading  force,  as  he  had  the  largest  individual 
following. 

Not  long  after  he  was  gone  rumor  reached  Perry  and 
Mina  that  a  strong  force  of  royalists  was  on  the  way  to 
dispute  with  them.  This  did  not  enthuse  Perry  at  all. 


238  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

His  last  dispute  with  a  Spanish  royalist  army  had  been 
distinctly  not  to  his  fancy.  So  he  managed  to  quarrel 
with  Mina,  and  in  a  huff,  assumed  for  an  excuse,  he  de- 
parted, taking  with  him  only  fifty  followers.  Mina,  thus 
left  to  his  own  devices  and  undivided  authority,  exhibited 
courage  rather  than  judgment.  He  expected  the  country 
would  rise  at  his  approach,  and  that  he  would  be  enabled 
to  meet  the  viceroy's  troops  with  an  overpowering  army  of 
republicans.  Only  a  few  joined  him,  but  even  with 
this  handful  of  volunteers  he  defeated  the  first  battalion 
he  met,  captured  one  or  two  more  towns,  and  advanced 
a  considerable  distance  inland.  But  he  never  had  a 
possibility  of  achieving  his  purpose.  At  Remedies  he 
was  taken  prisoner  by  the  royalists,  and  by  order  of  the 
viceroy  he  was  shot. 

Perry  set  out  with  his  little  band  of  fifty  to  return  to 
Texas  overland  through  the  enemy's  country.  It  was  a 
twelve-hundred-mile  journey,  and  they  had  to  subsist  on 
the  country,  a  great  stretch  of  which  was  desert  and  moun- 
tain. But  they  eluded  the  royalists,  gave  their  army  posts 
no  trouble,  and  finally  arrived  at  the  scenes  of  the 
Gachupin  battles. 

This  Perry  was  a  hardened  case.  He  was  an  adventurer 
without  high  purposes,  and  not  distinguished  for  intelli- 
gence. What  he  expected  to  accomplish  in  Texas  with 
a  corporal's  guard,  can  hardly  be  divined.  But  he  be- 
gan operations  by  besieging  La  Bahia,  the  place  where 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  239 

Magee's  army  had  such  a  varied  experience.  Here  he  got 
into  a  tight  place.  The  royalists  had  heard  of  him,  and 
sent  a  detachment  of  cavalry  to  look  him  up.  This  came 
up  with  him  during  the  siege.  The  defenders  of  the 
town,  seeing  the  army  of  relief  attacking  the  enemy  in  the 
rear,  sallied  out,  and  the  besiegers  now  found  themselves 
surrounded.  Including  the  garrison,  they  were  forced  to 
contend  with  about  five  times  their  own  number. 

Whatever  their  motives  or  character,  they  fought  like 
Spartans.  Not  a  man  showed  the  white  feather,  and  not  a 
man  of  them  survived.  Perry  stood  till  the  last.  Seeing 
his  last  comrades  fall,  he  killed  himself  by  firing  a  pistol 
ball  into  his  brain,  as  his  old  commander,  Magee,  had 
done  at  nearly  the  identical  spot,  but  under  such  different 
circumstances,  five  years  before. 


CHAPTER  XII 


A  Cultured  Adventurer —  Courtship  of  Doctor  Long  and  Pretty  Jennie 
Wilkinson  —  Long  also  Infatuated  with  Conquest  —  Invades  Texas  — 
Seeks  an  Ally  in  Lafitte. 

|F  there  is  any  chap- 
ter of  real  romance 
in  the  chronicles  of 
adventure  in  the 
Southwest,  it  is  that 
which  recites  the 
story  of  the  youth- 
ful and  dashing  Doc- 
tor Long  and  his 
more  youthful  and 
beautiful  wife. 

After  the  terrible 
disasters  to  all  those 
who  had  embarked 
on  schemes  of  con- 
quest, the  initial  goal  of  which  was  Texas,  it  required  self- 
confidence  and  daring  of  an  unusual  order  —  either  that  or 
stupid  desperation  —  to  take  up  the  perilous  game  again. 
And  Doctor  Long  was  no  stupid.  Neither  had  he  in 
the  least  degree  the  qualities  of  a  blundering  desperado. 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

He  was  a  youth  who  had  enjoyed  the  advantages  of 
civilization, — so,  for  that  matter,  had  Magee,  —  and  his 
start  in  life  was  such  that  it  is  difficult  to  realize  fully 
how  he  could  have  become  so  infatuated  with  a  project  so 
stupendous  and  risky  as  the  conquest  of  a  great  province. 

However,  we  view  his  situation  from  a  great  distance ; 
greater  than  is  measured  by  the  flight  of  years  since  then. 
Safe  to  say,  the  obstacles  are  plainer  —  and  look  enough 
bigger  —  viewed  from  our  side  of  them  than  they  did  from 
his  side.  Yet  it  may  be  said  that  no  class  of  men  ever 
drew  such  desperate  drafts  on  the  depositories  of  the  future 
as  that  which  speculated  on  this  visionary  dominion. 

It  seems  to  have  been  almost  impossible  for  anybody  to 
write  real  romance  into  (or  out  of)  the  annals  of  Texas. 
It  might  have  been  otherwise,  if  Manuel  de  Godoy,  Prime 
Minister  and  all  but  king  of  Spain,  had  been  permitted  to 
carry  out  his  designs.  According  to  a  well-authenticated 
story  Texas,  or  New  Spain,  was  given  by  grant  of  the 
King  to  Godoy,  who,  having  heard  much  about  its  vast 
extent  and  natural  richness,  resolved  upon  a  grand  scheme 
of  colonization  with  a  view  to  creating  a  magnificent  em- 
pire. Not  only  was  the  province  given  to  him,  but  ships 
and  soldiers  for  his  enterprise ;  and  he  assembled  a  large 
number  of  young  women  from  the  "  asylums  "  of  Spain  to 
send  along.  But  just  then  there  was  an  uprising  of  the 
people.  Godoy  ceased  to  be  prime  minister,  but  instead 
went  into  exile  soon  afterward ;  the  young  women  were 

16 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

returned  to  their  former  abodes,  and  the  grandees  came 
not  to  New  Spain. 

James  Long's  career  was  exceptional.  He  was  a  young 
man  of  culture,  of  attractive  appearance,  of  more  intelligence 
than  the  average  of  adventurers.  Yet  he  was  entranced 
by  something  about  as  tangible  as  a  mirage.  He  read 
Scott,  and  was  dazzled  by  the  glories  of  Napoleon.  He 
grew  restless  and  ambitious.  The  magnet  of  renown  drew 
on  his  susceptibilities,  and  what  appears  a  Quixotic  venture 
now,  was  then  regarded,  not  only  by  him  but  by  many  of 
his  most  intelligent  acquaintances,  as  an  entirely  feasible 
undertaking. 

Long  was  a  native  of  Virginia.  At  a  very  early  age  he 
removed  with  his  parents  to  Tennessee.  There  he  studied 
medicine,  and  became  an  acquaintance  and  favorite  of 
General  Jackson.  (It  seems  odd  that  every  man  from 
Tennessee  who  became  known  in  those  days  —  adventurers 
particularly  —  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Jackson.)  Hav- 
ing entered  the  practice  of  his  profession  before  the  second 
war  with  England,  he  enlisted  as  a  surgeon  and  was  on 
duty  at  the  battle  of  New  Orleans.  It  is  asserted  that 
he  distinguished  himself,  and  that  the  General  called  him 
his  young  lion.  Somebody  probably  thought  of  that 
afterward. 

After  the  termination  of  the  war  he  was  stationed  at 
Natchez,  still  in  the  service.  One  day  he  went  to  attend 
a  friend,  a  young  officer  named  Calvert  who  was  lying 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  243 

ill  at  a  private  house,  suffering  from  injuries  received  in 
the  famous  battle.  Now  began  the  romance  of  his  life. 
The  story  of  it  was  written  out  by  President  Mirabeau  B. 
Lamar,  of  the  Lone  Star  State,  and  incorporated  by  Foote 
in  his  "  Texas  and  the  Texans."  President  Lamar  may 
have  been  emulating  the  example  of  Governor  Claiborne's 
story  of  Madeline ;  at  least,  the  style  of  fiction-writing  of 
the  two  Executives  is  quite  similar.  They  never  argue, 
and  do  very  little  explaining.  They  state  the  case  in  a 
sort  of  executive-decree  way,  and  we  may  take  it  at  that 
or  close  the  book. 

From  this  account  it  is  learned  that  at  the  house  in 
which  the  young  officer  Calvert  was  convalescing,  there  was 
a  school-girl  of  fourteen  who  was  an  orphan,  born  in  Mary- 
land, and  the  niece  of  General  James  Wilkinson.  She  was 
living  with  her  married  sister.  Another  older  sister  was 
affianced  to  Lieutenant  Calvert.  Now,  this  Jennie  Wilkin- 
son was  a  paragon.  She  was  as  beautiful  as  fourteen 
Southern  Summers  could  make  her,  she  was  precocious, 
and  had  the  animation  of  a  gazelle. 

One  morning  as  she  was  about  to  start  schoolward  a 
forward  minx  of  a  mulatto  slave  girl,  employed  in  the 
capacity  of  a  maid,  volunteered  the  information  that  the 
"handsomest  gemman  she'd  ever  sot  her  two  eyes  on" 
was  in  the  sick  man's  room,  and  suggested  that  "  Missy  'd 
better  take  a  peek." 

"  What  you  suppose  I  care,  you  saucy  thing  ! "  replied 


244  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Missy  Jennie  with  well-merited  rebuke.  But  the  wench 
maintained  she  had  been  warranted  by  the  provocation  — 
that  the  doctor  who  had  come  to  tend  the  sick  man  was 
*'  sholy  the  most  handsomest  man  in  the  whole  world.1' 

So  Miss  Jennie,  instead  of  living  up  to  her  pretensions 
of  haughty  indifference  to  manly  beauty,  slipped  around 
slyly  and  not  only  "  peeked "  but  took  a  long  and  admir- 
ing look.  It  is  not  intended  to  be  understood  that  the 
statesman  tells  the  tale  in  quite  this  flippant  manner  — 
some  of  the  dignity  of  his  diction  has  been  sacrificed  to 
intimacy.  But  the  story  is  the  same. 

Well,  after  taking  her  "  peek,""  Miss  Jennie  took  off  her 
sun-bonnet,  and  went  to  making  herself  more  womanlike 
than  she  had  ever  done  before ;  and  planted  herself  in  the 
main  living-room,  east  side  of  the  hall,  so  that  the  unsus- 
pecting knight  of  the  lancet  and  calomel  could  n't  get  out 
without  encountering  trouble,  —  or  at  least  without  seeing 
her.  A  girl  twice  her  years  could  not  have  taken  a  worse 
advantage  of  him.  And  there  she  waited,  pretending  that 
she  was  interested  in  nothing  in  the  world  but  the  morning- 
glories  blowing  in  at  the  window. 

By  and  by  out  came  the  young  doctor.  He  did  not  fall 
over,  but  he  acted  pretty  well  as  if  he  had  come  in  contact 
with  one  of  Signor  Galvani's  recently  invented  batteries, 
which  he  had  just  been  explaining  about.  But  in  spite 
of  his  unusual  equipment  for  heart-breaking  he  walked  on 
out,  and  never  said  a  word. 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  245 

Anybody  sane  and  observing  would  have  thought  the 
sick  lieutenant  had  suffered  a  dangerous  relapse,  by  the 
increased  and  anxious  attention  his  doctor  began  to  give 
him  from  that  morning.  His  Jiancee  noticed  it  and  be- 
came alarmed,  and  the  lieutenant  himself  began  to  inquire 
a  lot  about  his  symptoms.  What  was  more  alarming, 
the  doctor  fidgeted  when  he  came  morning  and  afternoon 
and  evening,  and  did  not  seem  to  know  just  what  to 
prescribe  next. 

But  in  a  day  or  two  they  espied  him  playing  checkers 
with  Jennie,  and  those  two  engaged  ones  understood  the 
situation.  It  was  explained,  and  none  too  soon.  For 
the  lieutenant,  although  he  had  been  well  on  the  road  to 
recovery,  would  surely  have  been  frightened  into  a  setback 
with  a  day  or  two  more  of  it. 

Now  there  arose  such  a  tempest  as  only  can  be  imagined. 
Whether  her  aunt  and  uncle  punished  Jennie  it  is  not  cer- 
tain, but  they  and  all  her  other  relatives  and  protectors 
entered  all  other  forms  of  objections.  They  scolded,  they 
coaxed,  they  declared  that  not  only  was  she  too  young  by 
years  to  marry,  but  that  she  should  never  many  a  man 
who  would  take  such  advantage  of  childish  innocence  ! 
Then  in  the  same  breath  they  said  it  was  her  wilfulness. 
And  besides,  the  doctor  himself  was  only  twenty.  Even 
his  friend  the  lieutenant,  perhaps  from  having  to  keep 
loyal  to  the  family,  gently  remonstrated  with  the  boy. 

"  Put    it    off   for    a  while,  Jimmie,"     he    would    say ; 


246  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

"  why,  she  '11  just  grow  more  beautiful  the  longer  you 
wait." 

But  Jimmie  just  looked  satisfied  and  would  not  talk 
back.  Nevertheless,  the  uncle  and  aunt  kept  Jennie  very 
close  now,  and  although  she  declared  she  would  never  wed 
any  other,  and  cried  over  it,  they  said  she  should  not 
marry.  Perhaps  they  would  have  had  their  way  had  not 
they  been  outgeneraled.  Not  by  an  elopement,  either, 
but  a  more  romantic  way  than  that. 

It  would  almost  appear  as  if  it  was  just  to  meet  such 
emergencies  as  this,  but  anyway  there  was  a  law  in  Missis- 
sippi in  those  days  which  provided,  and  made  mandatory, 
that  an  orphan,  upon  arriving  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  being 
supposed  then  to  have  some  sense,  should  choose  a  guar- 
dian. At  least  our  president-author  says  there  was  such  a 
law,  and  it  is  presumptive  that  he  knew,  he  having  formerly 
resided  in  that  State.  One  might  be  pardoned  the  sus- 
picion that  he  had  been  Jennie's  lawyer,  and  that  he  put 
up  the  ruse  himself.  But  anyhow,  the  time  now  having 
arrived  to  make  her  choice,  she  chose  the  doctor  for  her 
guardian  and  married  him  into  the  bargain,  for  against 
the  guardian's  permit  no  one  could  say  nay.  The  marriage 
occurred  May  4,  1815.  The  exact  date  gives  verisimili- 
tude to  the  story. 

Not  long  after  their  marriage  the  youthful  couple  went 
to  live  at  Port  Gibson.  The  doctor  resigned  his  commis- 
sion and  took  up  practice  again.  But  he  was  a  restless 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  247 

sort  of  spirit,  and  would  never  remain  long  at  any  one 
place.  Coming  into  a  little  money  from  some  source,  he 
decided  to  turn  planter.  Going  up  the  river  a  little  far- 
ther, he  bought  a  plantation  which  included  the  site  of  the 
subsequent  city  of  Vicksburg.  Here  he  really  laid  the 
foundation  for  a  fortune,  but  it  was  not  in  the  man  to 
wait.  Very  soon  land  speculators  began  to  tempt  him, 
and  he  sold  out  to  Mr.  Vick,  after  whom  the  city  was 
named  —  and  a  pretty  hard  speculator  he  was,  too. 

Being  now  out  of  planting,  with  his  money  in  hand, 
Long  went  back  to  Natchez  and  engaged  in  still  another 
occupation  —  merchandising.  In  this  he  remained  two 
years,  and  it  was  during  this  time  that  the  Southwest  was 
raised  to  a  high  pitch  of  excitement  and  indignation  over 
the  treaty  which  had  been  entered  into  by  John  Quincy 
Adams  and  the  Spanish  Minister  de  Onis,  fixing  the 
Southwest  boundary  at  the  Sabine  River  (finally  doing  away 
with  the  "  neutral  ground  "  nuisance) ;  and  no  less  aroused 
by  the  proposed  bill  in  Congress,  limiting  slavery  to 
36°  30'  North  latitude. 

Up  to  this  time  enterprises  against  Spanish  territory 
had  been  prompted  by  the  spirit  of  adventure,  which  was 
mainly  produced  by  the  unusual  political  conditions  of  the 
times.  But  after  the  widespread  dissatisfaction  with  the 
government  of  the  new  republic  had  been  allayed,  other 
things  transpired  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  restless 
toward  the  Mexican  provinces,  not  the  least  of  which  was 


248  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

the  publication,  in  1807,  of  Captain  Zebulon  Pike's  account 
of  his  explorations. 

When  the  United  States  came  into  possession  of  Louisi- 
ana, nobody  had  any  definite  knowledge  of  the  territory 
purchased.  It  seemed  almost  boundless.  It  was  so  vast, 
indeed,  that  our  government  had  not  wanted  to  buy  it  all, 
simply  fearing  the  responsibility.  Our  plenipotentiaries 
were  instructed  to  negotiate  for  Orleans  Territory  only, 
but  after  dickering  for  a  while  Napoleon  gave  the  order 
one  day  to  "sell  them  all  or  nothing."  As  President 
Jefferson  felt  that  the  order  was  final,  he  took  the  whole 
at  the  same  price. 

Wanting  to  find  out  something  about  this  new  domain, 
the  government  sent  out  an  expedition  under  command  of 
Captain  Pike,  of  the  regular  army,  to  explore  it.  Among 
other  exciting  things  that  happened  to  him,  the  captain 
ran  foul  of  the  Spaniards.  They  suspected  the  motives  of 
the  party,  as  they  had  warrant,  based  on  previous  experi- 
ences, to  suspect  any  such  expedition  from  this  country. 
They  forbade  him  crossing  the  Sabine,  and  when  he 
pushed  ahead  regardless,  Governor  Cordero  sent  a  regi- 
ment of  600  regulars  to  gather  him  in.  However,  Pike 
evaded  arrest  by  losing  himself  somewhere  in  the  unknown 
wilds.  But  while  he  eluded  the  Mexicans  this  time  they 
subsequently  captured  him  in  New  Mexico,  and  took  him 
before  the  authorities  at  Santa  Fe.  They  forwarded  him, 
bag  and  baggage,  to  Chihuahua,  where  he  was  kept  in 


LIEUTENANT  ZEBULON  PIKE 
Government  explorer  of  the  Great  Southwest 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  249 

duress  for  some  time,  and  his  papers  expropriated.  Upon 
his  release  and  return,  his  report  of  the  vast  and  diversi- 
fied region  he  had  traversed  fired  many  of  the  adventur- 
ous spirits  of  our  Southwest  to  reach  out  for  some  of  it ; 
and,  of  course,  they  preferred  that  belonging  to  Spain. 

But  with  the  Adams-De  Onis  treaty,  the  incentive 
everywhere  was  changed.  Records  of  the  time  show  that 
the  whole  Western  country  complained  because  of  the 
boundary  settlement.  Everybody  thought  the  boundary 
should  have  been  fixed  farther  West  —  that  we  should 
have  secured  the  most  or  all  of  Texas,  which  they  pre- 
tended to  believe  was  thrown  in  with  the  Louisiana 
purchase. 

As  to  the  slavery  proposition,  this  was  about  the  first 
outcry  of  the  slave  proprietors  against  having  limits  set 
or  proposed  against  their  "institution";  and  although 
the  bill  mentioned  did  not  pass  in  Congress,  it  was  an 
admonition  of  what  was  coming  later.  The  slavers 
already  had  been  looking  to  Texas,  and  as  soon  as  the 
terms  of  the  treaty  became  known  many  of  them  began 
to  talk  defiance  of  the  government  and  the  "right"  to 
seize  Texas.  This  province  was  looked  upon  as  much 
more  valuable  than  Florida,  and  many  felt  —  not  without 
a  little  reason  in  the  facts  —  that  in  the  closures  Texas 
had  been  sacrificed  for  the  peninsular  State.  The  extrem- 
ists (and  America  did  not  lack  noisy  ones  then  more 
than  at  any  other  time)  declared  the  government  had 


250  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

deliberately  violated  her  fundamental  policy  of  never 
relinquishing  territory  once  possessed.  The  constitution 
experts  were  in  evidence  then,  as  usual  when  any  disputed 
question  of  government  policy  arises,  and  declared  that 
the  "  cession  "  of  Texas  to  Spain  was  beyond  the  treaty- 
making  power. 

Of  course,  the  United  States  did  not  cede  Texas,  never 
having  had  possession  of  the  Territory.  In  Congress  it 
was  urged  that  our  government  had  pledged  its  honor  to 
France  to  incorporate  all  of  the  Louisiana  purchase  into 
the  Union  —  not  making  out  a  case,  however,  showing 
that  Texas,  or  even  any  portion  of  it,  was  included  therein. 
It  was  a  quibble  in  which  great  numbers  of  the  people 
joined  in  opposition  to  the  government,  to  the  credit 
neither  of  their  good  sense  nor  of  their  moral  perception. 
But  it  was  inspired  largely  by  the  already  increasing 
demand  for  slave  lands,  a  demand  which  never  could 
have  been  satisfied. 

This  was  the  state  of  public  feeling  in  the  South  when 
Doctor  Long  returned  to  Natchez.  It  appeared  to  him 
that  now  was  the  time  for  a  brilliant  coup.  His  sugges- 
tions for  the  organization  of  a  company  as  the  nucleus 
of  an  army  to  take  the  coveted  land  met  with  hearty  en- 
dorsement by  the  planters  and  traders  of  his  vicinity. 
Getting  the  Texas  virus  in  his  system,  he  began  to  work 
up  public  meetings  to  promote  his  projects.  It  was  a 
popular  scheme. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  251 

When  Philip  Nolan  organized  his  party  at  the  same 
town  nearly  twenty  years  before,  there  was  a  semblance  of 
secrecy  about  it.  At  least,  many  of  those  who  sanctioned 
his  enterprise  did  not  care  to  be  known  publicly  as  doing 
so.  Now,  everything  was  bold  and  above  board  ;  and  one 
wonders  why  the  government  did  not  receive  advices  about 
it  through  its  marshals  and  judges,  if  through  no  other 
channel,  and  forbid  the  proceeding.  Neither  Nolan's  nor 
Long's  enterprise  was  the  lawless  adventure  of  one  man,  as 
some  commentators,  whose  habit  it  is  to  assume  that 
everything  sanctioned  by  the  American  people  is  righteous, 
have  hinted.  That  is  largely  true  of  Magee's  plunge,  but 
in  the  other  cases  "  enlightened "  public  sentiment  was 
mainly  responsible. 

At  one  of  the  public  meetings  at  Natchez  a  call  was 
issued  for  volunteers  to  go  to  Texas.  A  subscription  was 
opened  for  a  conquest  fund.  Doctor  Long  had  been  one 
of  the  chief  speakers  at  the  meeting,  and  he  now  became 
one  of  the  first  and  largest  subscribers.  The  fact  shows 
how  entirely  he  cast  his  life,  his  fortune,  his  future,  and 
his  honor  on  the  chances,  that  he  closed  out  his  busi- 
ness and  devoted  practically  all  his  means  to  the  under- 
taking. When  the  company  was  organized  he  was  given 
the  chief  command  of  it,  with  the  title  of  general.  That 
he  was  lacking  in  most  of  the  qualities  that  fit  a  man  for 
such  a  command  can  hardly  be  doubted.  He  was  only 
twenty-four.  He  was  not  an  experienced  soldier,  his  short 


252  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

period  of  army  service  having  been  as  a  surgeon.  And  he 
lacked  those  stern,  domineering  characteristics  that  give 
men  authority  over  others. 

In  June,  1820,  Long  set  out  from  Natchez  with  seventy- 
five  men.  He  left  his  wife  in  a  precarious  condition,  and 
two  young  children.  Another  child  was  born  to  them 
a  week  or  two  after  his  departure.  But  it  cannot  be 
deemed  an  evidence  of  indifference  that  he  left  his  wife 
at  such  a  time.  She  was  every  whit  as  full  of  the  enter- 
prise as  he  was,  and  it  was  agreed  that  she  should  follow 
and  join  him  as  soon  as  she  was  able.  They  really  had 
visions  of  making  their  future  home  in  Texas,  and  of 
shaping  the  destinies  of  the  country. 

It  is  impossible  to  state  whether  Mrs.  Long  or  her 
husband  imbibed  any  of  their  ideas  of  conquest  from  her 
uncle,  the  disloyal  general ;  but  it  is  remarkable  that  every 
one  of  these  expeditions  traces  back  in  some  way  to  that 
arch-plotter,  Wilkinson. 

As  Long  marched  through  Louisiana  he  received  ad- 
ditions to  his  company,  so  that  at  Natchitoches  he  had 
three  hundred  enthusiastic  men  around  him.  Among 
them  was  Colonel  Samuel  Davenport,  rancher  and  con- 
tractor, who  had  been  of  the  Magee  expedition ;  Colonel 
James  Bowie,  a  prominent  gentleman,  fighting  man,  and 
illicit  slave-trader  of  New  Orleans,  inventor  of  the  mur- 
derous stabbing-knife  which  bears  his  name ;  and  there, 
too,  was  old  Gutierrez,  as  patriotic  as  ever,  and  ready 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  253 

to  join  any  raid  that  promised  spoils  and  good  living. 
There  were,  no  doubt,  some  reputable  men  with  the 
doctor,  measured  by  the  standards  of  the  country,  but  he 
had  also  the  usual  contingent  of  discontents  whose  highest 
ideal  of  liberty  was  absence  of  laws. 

Long  took  possession  of  Nacogdoches,  in  Texas,  ap- 
parently without  opposition.  On  June  23  he  issued  a 
proclamation,  styling  himself  President  of  the  Supreme 
Council  of  Texas.  In  this  utterance  he  declared  that 
"  the  citizens  of  Texas  have  long  indulged  the  hope 
that,  in  adjusting  the  boundaries  of  the  Spanish  posses- 
sions in  America  and  of  the  Territories  of  the  United 
States,  they  should  be  included  within  the  limits  of 
the  latter.11  This  was  followed  by  a  proclamation  declar- 
ing the  independence  of  Texas,  and  that  it  was  a  free 
republic. 

A  government  was  organized.  It  declared  itself  pos- 
sessed of  powers  to  enact  laws  relating  to  public  lands, 
revenues,  etc.,  as  necessities  required.  The  Supreme 
Council  also  provided,  under  powers  conferred  upon  it 
by  itself,  for  the  sale  of  the  best  lands  at  not  less  than 
one  dollar  per  acre,  one-half  to  be  paid  in  cash  on 
receipt  of  certificate,  the  balance  to  be  met  in  easy 
annual  instalments.  They  also  did  something  of  more 
historical  interest, — they  established  the  first  printing 
shop  and  newspaper  in  the  province.  Horatio  Bigelow 
was  the  editor. 


254  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

The  principal  officials  in  this  sod-house  government 
besides  Long,  were  Davenport  and  Bowie.  Also  promi- 
nent in  the  Council  was  David  Long,  brother  of  the  presi- 
dent, who  seems  to  have  been  most  active  in  establishing 
barter  with  the  Indians.  He  made  a  trading  trip  as  far 
westward  as  the  Trinity  River,  which  shows  that  the 
whole  eastern  frontier  was  defenceless.  , 

Having  effected  an  organization,  Long  proceeded  to 
take  more  effectual  control  of  the  country.  He  de- 
spatched a  Major  Smith  with  forty  men  to  establish 
themselves  at  Cooshattie  village  on  the  Trinity.  He 
also  sent  Captain  Johnson  with  about  an  equal  force  to 
make  a  settlement  at  Brazos  Falls.  Next  Major  Cooke 
was  detailed  to  Pecan  Point,  with  thirty  or  forty  fol- 
lowers, and  Captain  Walker  was  ordered  with  twenty- 
three  men  to  plant  American  civilization  on  a  slavery 
foundation  at  Washington. 

After  splitting  up  his  command  and  distributing  the 
parcels  of  it  around  at  points  widely  distant  from  each 
other,  so  that  the  enemy,  whether  royalists  or  savages, 
could  attack  and  eat  them  up  in  detail,  the  contriver  of 
this  ingenious  piece  of  strategy  went  on  a  journey  to 
Galveston.  The  "general"  had  previously  sent  Colonel 
Gaines  thither  with  plenipotentiary  powers  to  solicit  an 
alliance  with  Lafitte,  the  present  lord  of  the  island  and 
prince  of  the  gulf  pirates.  That  courtly  ruffian,  to  whose 
name  has  clung  a  mysterious  and  lasting  notoriety,  had 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  255 

changed  his  residence  and  jurisdiction  from  Barataria  to 
Galveston  two  or  three  years  before.  The  object  of 
Gaines's  visit  was  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  Lafitte  and 
his  hardened  band  with  the  Supreme  Council.  It  was  a 
desperate  move. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


The  Invader  and  the  Corsair  —  Disasters  Afield  —  The  Garrison  at  Bolivar 
—  Jennie  Long's  Distress  and  Loyalty  —  A  Heroine  in  the  Wild. 

MBASSADOR 
GAINES  did  not 
succeed  in  his  mis- 
sion to  the  corsair 
prince,  and  so  the 
president-general 
determined  to  nego- 
tiate in  person  with 
the  distinguished 
outlaw.  Recalling 
Major  Cooke  from 
Pecan,  he  invested 
him  with  the  gen- 
eral command  dur- 
ing his  own  absence, 

and  with  his  accustomed  self-confidence  set  out  to  induce 

Lafitte   to  come   and   enjoy  with   him    the   blessings  of 

conquest. 

He  found  the  pirate  leader  a  smooth-spoken   son   of 

villany,  in  form  and  style  the  typical  pirate  king.     The 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  257 

story  of  his  deeds  is  too  common  to  require  repetition, 
but  it  may  be  stated  that  this  was  the  era  of  his  supposed 
reform.  Having  defied  those  who  set  a  price  upon  his 
head,  and  retaliated  by  himself  offering  a  reward  for  the 
head  of  the  Governor  of  Louisiana,  the  desperado  had 
finally  made  terms  with  authority  and  engaged  his  ser- 
vices against  the  English  in  the  second  war. 

Later  he  took  up  privateering  again,  with  the  under- 
standing that  he  would  not  disturb  American  commerce. 
Building  him  a  house  on  Galveston  Island,  and  surround- 
ing himself  with  comforts,  he  had  been  recognized  by  the 
professed  republican  "  patriots  "  of  Texas,  now  comprising 
very  few  besides  outlaws  and  exiles,  and  they  gave  him  the 
title  of  "  Governor  of  Galveston." 

The  reason  Lafitte  gave  Gaines  for  declining  Long's 
proposal  was  his  disbelief  in  the  success  of  the  enterprise. 
He  cited  the  failures  of  Nolan,  Magee,  and  Perry,  and 
could  not  see  how  the  present  expedition  could  hope  to  do 
any  better.  But  the  real  reason,  no  doubt,  was  that  he 
scented  rivalry  in  Long,  and  looked  forward  to  gathering 
around  him  a  force  strong  enough  to  control  the  province 
alone.  And  besides,  he  was  just  getting  into  fresh  trouble. 
As  a  reformed  villain  he  was  not  calculated  to  shine,  and 
furthermore  there  was  too  little  money  in  it. 

He  had  not  kept  his  crimson  hands  off  from  American 
merchantmen,  or  at  least  his  industrious  subjects  had  not, 
and  the  king  got  the  discredit.  An  uncommonly  fierce 

17 


258  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

cutthroat  denominated  in  the  guild  as  "the  Ferocious," 
who  had  won  most  evil  renown,  applied  to  Lafitte  to  enter 
his  service  as  privateer  against  the  Spaniards.  But  the 
monarch  of  pirates  and  governor  of  patriots  having  had  a 
hint  that  the  United  States  Navy  had  an  eye  on  him,  and 
fearing  his  applicant  lacked  judgment  in  such  delicate 
business,  was  inclined  to  deny  him. 

"  If  I  scuttle  anything  but  Spanish,  you  may  hang  me," 
said  the  Ferocious,  by  way  of  entreaty. 

"All  right,"  assented  Lafitte;  "111  just  hang  you  if 
you  do." 

The  Ferocious,  —  what  particular  kind  of  deviltry  he 
had  committed  to  merit  this  appellation  of  excellence  is 
not  entered  in  the  minutes,  but,  safe  to  say,  he  was  a  man- 
eater,  —  the  Ferocious  took  this  verbal  compact  as  a  pleas- 
antry between  friends,  a  sort  of  gentlemen's  agreement 
that  did  not  portend  much.  In  that  carelessness  of  dis- 
cernment, he  started  off  over  the  seas  and  scuttled  the 
very  first  vessel  he  sighted,  the  same  being  an  American 
schooner,  near  Sabine  Pass.  There  may  have  been  some 
ocular  confusion  in  this  case,  all  flags  having  for  so  long 
looked  alike  to  this  terror  of  the  deep.  But  to  his  mis- 
fortune, just  at  that  time  the  United  States  revenue  patrol 
Lynx,  commanded  by  Captain  Maury,  —  one  of  the  old 
Virginia  Maurys,  —  came  on  the  scene.  Maury  learned  of 
the  last  depredation  of  the  Ferocious,  scouted  him  out, 
gave  chase,  and  captured  his  craft  in  the  bayou ;  but  the 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  259 

scuttlers  got  away  to  shore,   and   returned   by   land   to 
Galveston. 

f  Now  this  was  the  second  bad  mistake  the  pirate  made, 
and  a  fatal  one,  for  Lafitte  learned  about  the  whole  trans- 
action; and,  fearing  a  business  call  from  Maury,  he 
hanged  the  Ferocious,  according  to  previous  mutual  under- 
standing, and  left  him  dangling  conspicuously,  anything 
but  an  ornament,  for  the  navy  captain  to  inspect.  It 
seems  that  Lafitte  was  a  man  of  his  word  —  sometimes. 
Of  course,  Maury  was  grateful  to  him  for  such  proof  of 
his  law-loving  disposition,  but  he  also  demanded  the 
associates  of  the  deceased.  Lafitte  gave  them  up,  not 
liking  the  pointed  way  the  Lynx's  guns  had  of  overlooking 
his  capital.  But  he  objected  to  Maury^s  meddlesomeness, 
declared  himself  to  be  an  official  of  the  Republic  of  Texas, 
that  Galveston  was  a  port  of  entry  of  that  republic,  and 
other  things  similar. 

Maury  went  his  way,  deciding  to  let  the  star  of  forgive- 
ness shine  on  the  alleged  republic  if  it  would  heed  the 
light.  But  Lafitte,  as  a  reformer  and  honorable  function- 
ary, appeared  to  lack  moral  influence  over  his  fellows,  for 
very  soon  they  scuttled  other  American  coastwise  cruisers. 
And  then  the  government  despatched  after  them  the  brig 
Enterprise,  Lieutenant  Kearney  in  command.  Kearney 
called  politely  at  Galveston,  was  affably  received  by 
Lafitte,  dined  with  him,  sipped  his  brandy,  and  smoked ; 
and  then  ordered  the  pretentious  prince  of  cutthroats  to 


260  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

take  his  government  and  all  his  crew  and  belongings  and 
pack  off  instanter,  or  he  would  blow  the  whole  nest  of 
them  into  bits. 

The  robber  chieftain  pleaded  for  a  few  days'  time, 
which  was  granted  ;  and  it  was  at  this  juncture  that  Long 
came  with  his  prospectus.  Whether  or  not  the  presence 
of  Lieutenant  Kearney  had  anything  to  do  with  his  con- 
tinued refusal  of  the  doctor's  request  is  uncertain ;  but 
anyhow,  he  packed  off  to  the  isthmus,  and  that  was  the 
last  of  Lafitte  in  Texas  or  thereabouts. 

In  the  weary  meanwhile  Mrs.  Long,  still  beautiful,  and 
grown  as  ambitious  as  her  husband,  was  entering  upon  a 
sea  of  troubles  that  stirs  one's  warmest  sympathies.  After 
the  birth  of  her  baby,  shortly  after  her  husband's  depart- 
ure from  Natchez,  she  was  eager  for  the  journey  to  join 
him,  and  could  wait  only  two  weeks  before  setting  out. 
Of  course,  it  was  a  hazardous  attempt.  Under  present- 
day  conditions  of  travel  she  might  have  met  with  no 
serious  results  from  her  rash  haste;  but  then  it  was 
almost  constant  exposure. 

She  started  under  the  protection  of  two  or  three  citi- 
zens, her  neighbors,  who  were  going  to  join  their  fortunes 
with  her  husband's  enterprise.  She  took  along  a  single 
nurse,  a  negress.  For  the  first  half  of  the  way,  she  had  all 
three  of  her  children  with  her.  They  took  boat  and  went 
down  the  Mississippi  to  its  confluence  with  the  Red  River. 
Then  they  ascended  the  Red  as  far  as  Alexandria,  where 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  261 

resided  her  sister,  now  married  to  Lieutenant  Calvert,  the 
invalid  of  the  first  act,  and  here  she  lay  sick  from 
exhaustion  and  exposure  for  four  weeks ! 

But  she  would  not  forego  the  remainder  of  her  journey. 
Leaving  her  two  oldest  children  with  Mrs.  Calvert,  she  set 
on  from  here  by  horseback.  She  rode  with  the  servant  on 
the  crupper,  the  negress  fairly  holding  her  mistress  in  the 
saddle.  For  most  of  the  way  the  men  earned  the  infant. 
When  it  is  considered  that  they  traversed  much  rough 
country,  including  a  great  deal  of  swamp-land,  and  wilder- 
nesses thick  with  undergrowth  ;  that  the  roads  were  traces 
that  were  often  lost  in  the  mire ;  that  it  was  tropical  mid- 
summer, with  torrents  of  rain,  and  that  the  distance,  by 
the  route,  was  about  two  hundred  miles  after  leaving  the 
river,  it  will  be  realized  what  the  invalid  mother's  hard- 
ships were.  We  have  a  still  more  intimate  understanding 
of  them  when  we  read  in  Lamar's  account  that  one  of  the 
men  of  her  little  party  died  from  the  effects  of  the  trip. 

Yet  this  does  not  describe  any  unusual  instance  of 
hardships  by  travel  in  the  new  countries.  Aside  from  the 
circumstance  of  illness,  the  journey  of  Mrs.  Long  was 
common  to  the  time,  and  our  great-grandmothers  seemed 
not  to  live  the  shorter  lives  because  of  them. 

Jennie  Long  recuperated  after  arriving  at  Nacogdoches, 
the  "  capital "  of  the  freebooters'  new  Texas  government. 
She  was  there  with  her  husband  several  weeks  before  he 
departed  on  his  mission  to  Galveston.  The  doctor  must 


•THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

have  suffered  as  much  heartache  at  leaving  her  here  as 
when  he  left  her  at  Natchez,  and  have  felt  a  thousand 
more  misgivings.  In  sober  truth,  he  already  was  appre- 
hensive about  his  position.  Rumors  were  in  the  simoons 
that  swept  across  and  withered  the  Texas  steppes,  of 
royalists  marshalling  with  the  watchword  of  death  to 
Americano  invaders !  He  was  doubtful  about  his  ability 
to  hold  the  country  against  them,  and  he  knew  the  war- 
fare they  would  wage  against  him  would  not  be  like 
that  between  nations  recognizing  "  civilized  "  rules.  Some 
recruits  had  straggled  along,  but  there  had  been  no  such 
movement  to  join  him  as  he  had  expected.  The  slave- 
holders wanted  Texas.  They  demanded  it  as  a  right. 
But  most  of  them  preferred  to  remain  on  their  plantations 
and  let  others  go  and  do  the  fighting  for  it.  In  the 
meanwhile  they  would  courageously  damn  the  government 
for  "  relinquishing  "  the  province. 

Well  may  President-General  Long,  of  the  Supreme 
Council,  have  feared  for  his  success,  to  the  desperate  limit 
of  seeking  aid  from  the  pirate  king.  Trouble  was  on  the 
march  for  him.  And  it  made  connections  with  his  numer- 
ous settlement-posts  before  he  had  been  gone  many  days. 
The  royalists  first  attacked  Johnson,  on  the  Brazos,  and 
took  eleven  prisoners.  The  rest  of  the  Americans  there 
escaped,  but  were  rapidly  pursued  to  Walker's  fort  at  La 
Bahia.  Here  they  were  attacked  by  a  much  superior 
force  of  three  hundred  Mexican  regulars,  and  fled, 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  263 

leaving  their  baggage  and  provisions,  as  well  as  many 
of  their  arms. 

Things  began  to  go  awry  also  at  the  capital,  where 
another  sort  of  enemy  disturbed  his  government.  "While 
Long  was  on  the  way  back  he  received  a  message  from  his 
wife,  sent  by  an  express  rider,  informing  him  that  Major 
Cooke,  who  had  been  left  in  principal  authority,  had 
"  resumed  his  old  habits  of  drunkenness  "  and  that  things 
were  going  altogether  badly.  Also  that  it  was  reported 
that  the  royalist  troops  had  attacked  some  of  the  posts, 
and  that  nothing  was  being  done  under  the  disorganiza- 
tion at  Nacogdoches  towards  preparations  for  repelling 
them. 

The  doctor  pushed  on  rapidly  for  his  headquarters,  and 
arrived  there  to  find  the  place  in  a  panic.  Stragglers 
began  to  come  in.  From  them  he  learned  that  his 
brother  David  had  been  killed  in  a  battle  near  the  Brazos 
River.  The  story,  as  it  subsequently  was  told,  was  unusu- 
ally sorrowful.  While  the  Americans  were  being  close 
pressed,  David  had  received  a  blow  that  felled  him  from 
his  horse.  He  was  hardly  stunned,  but  before  he  could 
remount,  one  of  his  own  men  seized  the  horse  from  him, 
leaped  into  the  saddle,  and  escaped.  David  was  left  with 
nothing  but  his  sword  to  defend  himself  with,  and  being 
on  foot,  escape  was  cut  off.  Refusing  to  surrender,  he  was 
killed. 

Hearing  of  these  disasters,  and  that  the  Mexicans  were 


264  THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

near  at  hand,  Long  packed  up  his  personal  effects  and 
decamped  from  his  capital  with  a  disorganized  company 
across  the  Sabine  to  American  territory.  He  halted  at 
Natchitoches  and  contemplated  his  fragments.  His  flimsy 
governmental  structure  had  not  a  knuckle  left  in  joint. 
The  Magee  remnants  after  the  battle  of  the  Medina  had 
more  chance  of  assembling  themselves  and  winning  than 
had  these  stragglers.  If  Long  had  had  a  manifold  better 
cause,  it  would  not  have  been  to  his  credit  to  return  to  the 
venture.  Mere  dogged  persistence  against  the  dictates  of 
common  sense  needs  tremendous  sentiment  to  render  it 
a  virtue. 

The  Mexicans,  or  royalists,  arrived  at  Nacogdoches  to 
find  that  the  government  they  had  come  to  annihilate 
had  been  packed  off  in  a  trunk.  Therefore  they  divided 
their  force,  sending  a  part  after  the  fleeing  officials,  and 
the  larger  division  after  the  invaders  at  Cooshattie.  Here 
were  gathered  together  Major  Smith,  and  Captains 
Johnson  and  Walker,  with  their  "  allied  forces  "  —  about 
seventy-five  men  in  all.  They  could  not  do  anything  but 
fight,  although  they  got  much  the  worse  of  it.  The 
argument  occurred  on  the  prairie  near  the  village,  as  they 
did  not  care  to  risk  being  penned  up  to  make  a  Mexican 
slaughter-day ;  and  soon  the  fugitive  invaders  —  some 
Texas  historians  indulge  the  fiction  of  calling  them  "  re- 
publicans "  —  were  dusting  the  plains  homeward. 

They  got  across  the  Trinity  to  a  point  called  Bolivar, 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  265 

on  Galveston  Bay,  and  made  a  stand.  Within  a  short 
time  they  were  rejoined  by  Long,  who  brought  with  him 
as  many  supporters  as  he  could  gather.  What  the  valiant 
and  warlike  Colonel  Bowie  and  the  assassin  Gutierrez  were 
doing  all  this  while  of  reverses  cannot  be  dwelt  upon, 
as  the  accounts  are  silent  concerning  them.  Apparently 
neither  distinguished  himself  by  any  act  of  heroism. 

After  the  general  arrived  at  Bolivar  the  Americans 
built  a  fort,  or  log  barracks,  making  their  defences  pretty 
strong.  But  watching  through  the  chinks  of  a  log  fort 
for  the  coming  of  the  foe  is  not  progressive  conquest, 
and  Long  again  left  his  command  to  solicit  aid,  this 
time  going  to  New  Orleans. 

The  accounts  of  what  happened  subsequently  are  some- 
what at  variance.  The  operations  of  this  garrison  involve 
a  question  of  doubt,  but  it  appears  that  Mrs.  Long  joined 
her  husband  here  before  his  departure.  But  in  any  event 
it  is  certain  that  he  went  to  the  Southern  metropolis,  and 
that  he  there  fell  in  with  two  Mexican  exiles,  stanch 
patriots,  to  be  sure,  both  of  whom  were  thirsting  to  "  lib- 
erate "  Texas,  —  or  any  other  Spanish  province  that  offered 
something.  Their  names  were  Milam  and  Trespalachios. 
The  latter  was  the  more  positive  character. 

Taking  up  these  Mexicans,  and  proclaiming  Trespalach- 
ios as  the  head  of  the  enterprise,  the  doctor  solicited  funds 
and  volunteers  for  a  second  expedition,  or  an  auxiliary 
to  his  first  one.  It  was  nominally  to  aid  the  republicans 


266  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

in  their  struggles  against  Spain,  but  the  word  was  given 
privately  that  the  possession  of  Texas  for  a  separate  gov- 
ernment, and  the  spoils  of  seizure,  were  what  volunteers 
were  to  expect.  In  the  proclamation  this  party  issued 
upon  setting  off,  Trespalachios  styled  himself  "  Lieutenant- 
General  of  the  Mexican  Army  and  President  of  the  Su- 
preme Council  of  Texas.*"  Titles  were  the  strong  points 
of  the  patriot  adventurers  of  those  days  —  titles  and  com- 
missions. Of  course  they  could  all  issue  commissions  of 
any  rank,  —  it  all  depended  upon  the  size  of  the  subscrip- 
tion the  recipient  made  to  the  "  liberation  "  fund.  When 
Toledo  came  to  New  Orleans  from  Cuba  he  had  a  batch  of 
such  commissions  in  blank. 

Long's  party  went  by  water  along  the  coast  to  the 
mouth  of  the  San  Antonio  River.  Here  it  landed,  and 
only  fifty-one  men  composed  the  army  of  which  the 
lieutenant-general  and  president  was  the  ostensible  head. 
They  proceeded  up  to  La  Bahia,  which  they  occupied 
without  opposition.  It  appears  that  most  of  the  royalist 
troops  had  been  withdrawn.  Whether  any  company  from 
the  fort  at  Point  Bolivar  joined  and  cooperated  with  Long 
at  this  time  is  not  certain,  but  it  seems  unlikely  that  they 
did.  In  fact,  it  appears  certain  that  the  garrison  which 
the  leader  left  at  that  fortification  gradually  melted  away 
and  forsook  the  enterprise.  Long  did  not  leave  New 
Orleans  till  the  Spring  of  1821,  and  it  is  not  improbable 
that  they  became  disheartened  during  the  long  interim. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  267 

It  was  October  4  when  the  second  party  reached  La 
Bahia,  and  on  August  21  preceding  had  occurred  the  treaty 
of  Cordova  which  practically  freed  Mexico  from  Spanish 
rule  and  was  the  beginning  of  her  independence.  Colonel 
Perez,  commanding  in  Texas,  did  not  recognize  the  pre- 
tension that  the  invading  Americans  were  actuated  merely 
by  a  desire  to  advance  republican  principles,  so  he  sur- 
rounded them,  took  them  prisoners,  and  marched  them 
to  San  Antonio.  From  this  place  they  were  soon  after- 
ward transferred  to  the  City  of  Mexico. 

During  the  long,  anxious  Winter  of  1819-20,  and  the 
longer  and  more  hopeless  Summer  that  followed,  the  little 
garrison  at  Point  Bolivar  awaited  the  return  of  their 
leader  from  New  Orleans.  The  real  sustaining  influence 
was  Mrs.  Long.  Her  confidence  in  her  husband  seems 
never  once  to  have  faltered.  That  he  would  succeed  in 
raising  an  adequate  army,  which  ultimately  would  effect 
the  conquest  of  the  vast  Province  upon  whose  desolate 
border  they  were  trembling  in  fear  and  hunger,  was  the 
chief  article  of  her  faith.  She  cheered  the  rude  men 
around  her  with  this  assurance,  some  of  whom  were  of 
notorious  bravado.  Much  like  the  Countess  Ordelaffi,  the 
story  of  whose  heroic  defence  of  the  castle  of  Cesena 
against  the  warrior-cardinal,  Carrillo,  pending  the  coming 
of  her  husband  with  his  army,  adorns  mediaeval  romance, 
the  brave  young  wife  animated  this  frail  garrison. 

Month   after   month   wore   on,   and   one   by   one   the 


268  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

defenders  of  the  log  fort  drifted  away.  Occasionally  came 
a  letter  from  the  Doctor  at  New  Orleans.  These  always 
were  of  the  most  enthusiastic  tenor.  Great  men  were 
heartily  espousing  his  cause.  Such  a  general  had  pledged 
his  cooperation,  another  noted  politician  had  avowed  his 
sympathy,  another  merchant  had  agreed  to  contribute 
supplies.  But  the  experienced  adventurers  of  the  wasting 
company  at  Bolivar  knew  the  great  difference  between 
such  brave  promises  and  bacon  and  meal  in  the  boats. 
And  as  the  seasons  passed,  and  privations  and  dangers 
increased,  they  began  to  urge  the  abandonment  of  their 
position. 

Perhaps  Mrs.  Long  was  unreasonable  —  stubborn,  if  one 
chooses  to  say  it ;  but  her  husband  had  told  her  at  their 
parting  that  he  would  come  back  to  her  in  good  time  and 
strength ;  and  he  had  never  yet  deceived  her.  What  if 
she  should  go  and  he  should  come  and  find  she  had 
deserted  her  trust?  Those  who  were  alarmed  at  the 
menaces  of  the  savages  who  came  and  destroyed  their 
corn-patches  and  stole  their  mustangs,  might  retreat  if 
they  insisted,  but  not  she! 

Nevertheless,  something  had  to  be  done.  The  second 
Winter  was  well  advanced.  The  provisions  were  consumed. 
Northers  were  of  unusual  severity.  The  wilderness  round- 
about had  been  cleared  of  game.  There  had  been  no 
message  from  the  Doctor  for  months.  They  could  rig  up 
small  coasters  in  which  they  might  make  their  way  to 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  269 

New  Orleans.  Mrs.  Long  disapproved.  Then  the  hardy 
buccaneers  would  assist  her  overland  to  Natchitoches,  — 
anyway  to  escape  from  present  dismal  conditions.  "  Not 
till  the  Doctor  returns,"  ske  answered  firmly.  They  told 
her  they  were  going.  She  replied  that  she  was  not !  She 
would  die  first !  Then  if  her  husband  came  he  would  find 
her  remains  and  know  that  she  at  least  was  faithful  to 
him  to  the  end. 

And  then  those  valiant  cavaliers  did  something  that,  if 
it  were  not  vouched  for,  we  might  dispute  men  of  any 
character  ever  would  do.  They  deserted  Mrs.  Long,  leav- 
ing her  in  the  log  barrack  on  the  bleak  shore  of  the  bay 
with  her  baby,  her  only  protection  the  negress  who  had 
come  with  her  from  Natchez. 

"  Oh,  the  long  and  cruel  Winter ! "  Not  a  Winter  of  deep 
snow  —  not  the  icebound  Winter  of  Minnehaha's  sufferings, 
but  still  one  of  famine,  chilling  winds,  and  the  dismal 
howling  of  the  wild.  The  larder  became  so  empty  that 
the  two  women,  mistress  and  slave,  gathered  the  ears  of 
corn  that  had  been  left  in  the  ruined  field,  parched  the 
kernels,  and  cracked  them  for  food.  The  faithful  negress 
cut  the  firewood.  And  amid  their  desolation  they  were 
attacked  by  Indians.  The  Comanches  came  and,  being 
denied  admittance,  attempted  to  break  into  the  log  en- 
closure. The  women  had  firearms  and  ammunition,  — the 
retreating  conquerors  had  been  considerate  enough  to 
leave  those  things  to  them,  —  and  they  knew  how  to  use 


270  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

them.  They  handled  their  rifles  like  soldiers,  and  Jennie 
fired  a  small  cannon  at  the  redskins. 

The  Comanches  retreated,  and  fortunately  did  not  at- 
tack again,  although  the  young  mother,  clasping  her  baby 
to  her  breast,  lived  in  mortal  fear  of  being  massacred. 
And  thus  she  lived  the  Winter  through,  hoping  from  day 
to  day  to  see  her  husband  coming,  and  not  receiving  even 
a  message,  a  word  of  love  or  encouragement. 

It  cannot  be  explained,  this  neglect  of  Doctor  Long  to 
notify  his  wife  of  his  movements.  It  may  be  he  assumed 
that  she  was  no  longer  at  the  fort.  Possibly  his  messages 
may  have  been  intercepted.  After  his  removal  to  Mexico, 
it  may  have  been  impossible  to  communicate  with  her. 
Whatever  the  reason,  during  her  last  painful  vigils  misfor- 
tunes multiplied,  and  in  the  Spring,  when  the  skies  cleared, 
and  planting-time  had  come  again  —  only  the  despairing 
women  had  nothing  left  for  seed  —  a  vessel  arrived  at  the 
Point.  They  were  Americans  who  landed,  and  with  an 
eagerness  that  cannot  be  described  Jennie  looked  among 
them  —  surely  he  had  come  at  last ! 

The  visitors  found  her  emaciated  and  careworn,  —  she 
had  aged  twenty  years  in  two.  And  in  answer  to  her 
anxious  inquiries  they  told  her,  gently  as  they  could,  that 
he  would  never  come  —  that  Doctor  Long  was  dead  ! 

They  took  her  away  from  the  forlorn  scene  of  her  suf- 
fering, and  on  the  way  to  her  people  told  the  story  of  his 
death.  When  he  and  his  followers  arrived  as  prisoners 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  271 

at  Mexico  City  they  entered  the  plea  that,  inasmuch 
as  they  had  been  operating  in  aid  of  the  revolutionists 
of  Mexico,  and  had  assisted  in  establishing  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  nation,  they  were  entitled  to  gratitude 
instead  of  punishment.  Whether  any  gratitude  was 
bestowed  upon  them  or  not,  they  were  all  set  at  liberty. 

As  in  many  of  the  events  of  Long's  career,  there  are  two 
accounts  of  subsequent  happenings. 

One  would  have  us  believe  that  he  was  invited  to 
visit  the  capital  "  that  he  might  receive  appropriate 
honors  as  one  of  the  champions  of  civil  liberty."  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  this  could  not  have  been  true.  The 
same  account  inconsistently  relates  that,  being  thus  grate- 
fully regarded,  he  was  an  object  of  suspicion  by  Iturbide, 
the  first  ruler  of  Mexico  under  a  "  free  government,"  who 
issued  secret  orders  for  his  assassination.  In  this  manner 
marked,  he  was,  while  calling  at  the  house  of  a  Mexican 
official,  and  halting  at  the  entrance  to  produce  his  pass- 
port, shot  down  by  a  soldier  from  an  adjoining  piazza. 

The  other  account,  by  reputable  historians  said  to  be 
the  true  one,  gives  it  that  after  his  release,  early  in  1822, 
he  called  at  the  military  post  of  Los  Gallos  on  some  per- 
sonal matter;  that  being  denied  entrance  by  a  soldier, 
a  dispute  ensued.  Being  impatient  of  restraint,  he 
resented  the  fancied  indignity  by  striking  the  man,  who 
thereupon  shot  him.  But  what  difference  ?  —  James  Long 
was  dead !  And  Jennie  Wilkinson,  widowed  and  graying 


THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

at  twenty-two,  sorrowing  with  her  children,  without  a 
home  of  her  own,  fortuneless  because  of  their  rash  ven- 
ture, was  the  greatest  sufferer  from  the  most  foolhardy 
and  disastrous  of  all  the  wild  enterprises  against  the 
Mexican  provinces. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


The  Florida  Exiles  — A  History  Story  seldom  Told  —  Seminoles  and 
Maroons —  The  Horror  of  Fort  Nichols  —  An  Echo  from  the 
Everglades. 

HIS  is  a  narrative 
of  a  tragic  motive. 
Whenever  one  de- 
clares there  is  a 
story  of  transgres- 
sion by  Americans 
against  a  friendly 
people  so  disgrace- 
ful that  it  has  sel- 
dom been  told,  he 
needs  to  be  sure  of 
his  authority.  Yet 
there  is  such  a  story, 
iand  a  true  one.  It 
was  not  a  trespass 

for  conquest,  as  were  the  other  raids   herein  recounted  ; 

but  it  was  with  wickeder  intent,  and,  unlike  all  the  others, 

was  instigated  by  a  State  and  earned  out  by  the  Federal 

government. 

18 


274  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Nevertheless,  it  was  buccaneering,  and  the  most  flagrant 
outrage  of  all  the  forays  into  Spanish  territory.  It  was,  in 
fact,  a  series  of  invasions  with  the  most  atrocious  disregard 
of  national  laws  and  of  the  laws  of  humanity.  They  were 
those  invasions  of  Spanish  Tlorida  in  pursuit  of  escaped 
bondmen.  Other  filibusters,  at  the  worst,  aimed  at  no 
more  than  to  take  possession  of  the  territory  entered. 
These  sought  to  enslave  or  kill  the  people,  and  did 
both.  There  must  be  the  ugliest  page  in  every  country's 
history.  This  is  it  in  ours. 

A  natural  hesitancy  to  recite  it  arises  with  the  admoni- 
tion against  arousing  the  dormant  animosities  of  slavery 
days.  No  doubt  the  accounts  from  which  this  brief  is 
taken  helped  bring  on  the  rebellion,  and,  some  may  ask, 
does  the  ghost  of  that  slavery  which  the  war  destroyed 
still  walk  ?  Be  that  as  it  may,  this  is  a  tale  of  things 
worth  remembering,  although  not  flattering  to  our 
national  vanity. 

The  Florida  Exiles,  or  Maroons,  as  they  were  called  by 
the  Spaniards,  dwelt  in  the  wilderness  of  the  Everglades 
for  more  than  forty  years,  and,  like  the  Israelites  in  Egypt, 
the  more  they  were  afflicted  the  more  they  multiplied  and 
grew.  And  it  was  a  period  of  affliction  compared  to 
which  (not  to  speak  irreverently)  the  forty  years'  wander- 
ing of  the  children  of  Israel  was  a  holiday  excursion. 

In  early  times  the  Carolinians  had  Indian  as  well  as  ne- 
gro slaves.  The  Indian  slave  was  much  given  to  running 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  275 

away.  The  negro  thought  his  example  a  good  one, 
and  followed  it.  They  escaped  into  Georgia,  then  a  free 
colony.  When  Georgia  introduced  slavery,  the  Exiles,  as 
those  runaways  were  called,  fled  to  Florida.  Here  they 
were  recognized,  both  under  Spanish  and  English  rule,  as 
free  subjects,  and  permitted  to  take  up  public  lands.  By 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  there  were  enough  of 
them  to  be  a  factor  in  the  defence  of  the  country. 

Requests  were  made  for  the  enforced  return  of  these 
refugees,  and  refused  by  the  Spanish  governors  of  Florida. 
That  was,  perhaps,  the  beginning  of  the  slavery  contention 
which  ended  only  at  Appomattox. 

Then  there  occurred  a  division  of  the  Creek  Indians  in- 
habiting the  wilds  of  Georgia.  They  had  a  tribal  quarrel, 
and  SeacofFee,  a  chief  with  an  independent  will,  rebelled. 
Followed  by  a  considerable  number  of  his  nation  he  went 
over  into  Florida  and  occupied  vacant  lands  close  to  the 
Exiles.  It  was  this  rebellious  part  of  the  Creeks  that  be- 
came the  Seminoles  —  the  name  signifying  "  runaways." 
Thenceforward  they  repudiated  all  authority  of  the  Creeks. 
They  intermarried  with  the  Exiles,  and  in  some  degree 
merged  with  those  refugees. 

It  was  not  strange  that  this  land  of  freedom,  bordering 
that  of  slavery,  became  a  favorite  refuge  for  slaves  escaping 
from  Georgian  masters.  It  seems  that  some  of  these  ne- 
groes were  enslaved  by  the  Seminoles ;  but  —  a  strange 
commentary  on  the  superior  civilization  of  the  whites  — 


276  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

this  was  much  preferred  to  their  former  situation.  It  was, 
in  fact,  a  sort  of  serfdom,  the  serf  occupying  land  apart 
from  his  master,  working  much  as  a  free  man,  and  giving 
the  master  a  part  of  his  produce.  There  was  much  primi- 
tive prosperity  among  these  people.  They  occupied  pro- 
ductive lands  along  the  Apalachicola  and  Suwanee  Rivers, 
kept  flocks  and  herds,  and  were  at  peace  with  each  other. 
They  also  remained  at  peace  with  the  world  until  after  the 
American  Revolution. 

In  1785  Georgia  made  a  pretended  treaty  with  the 
Creeks  (only  two  villages  out  of  one  hundred  being  repre- 
sented in  the  negotiations)  by  which  the  State  secured  a 
large  strip  of  territory.  In  the  treaty  was  a  provision 
that  the  Creeks  should  return  to  former  owners  all  slaves 
and  horses  that  had  been  or  would  be  in  the  future  found 
among  their  people.  The  whites  pretended  to  consider 
the  Seminoles  a  part  of  the  Creek  Nation,  and  thus  to  hold 
all  responsible  for  fugitive  slaves,  present  and  future. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  in  1789,  the 
Governor  of  Georgia  placed  in  the  hands  of  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  government  a  list  of  the  "  property " 
lost  by  Georgians  subsequent  to  the  close  of  the  war,  and 
demanded  indemnity.  The  list  included  also  one  hundred 
and  ten  negroes  said  to  have  escaped  during  the  war  and  to 
have  gone  among  the  Creeks.  The  following  year  the 
government  made  a  treaty  with  the  Creeks  for  a  return  of 
all  prisoners  and  negroes.  History  has  made  it  appear 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  277 

that  this  meant  merely  the  prisoners  the  Indians  held. 
But  the  Governor  of  Georgia  was  empowered  to  appoint 
three  commissioners  to  go  among  the  Creeks  and  claim 
such  prisoners  and  negroes  as  they  found.  No  allusion 
whatever  was  made  to  the  Seminoles  or  the  Exiles  in 
Florida.  They  had  not  been  asked  to  join  in  the  treaty. 

It  was  a  plan  to  bind  the  powerful  Creeks  to  surrender 
their  kinsmen,  or  the  Exiles  among  them,  on  Spanish 
territory.  And  it  was  a  secret  proceeding.  The  govern- 
ment stipulated  to  pay  the  Creeks  $1500  a  year  for  the 
service,  perpetually  ;  also  to  pay  Chief  McGillivray  $1200 
annually  for  life,  and  six  other  chiefs  $100  annually  for 
life.  The  payments  were  kept  up — simply  donations 
from  the  national  treasury  for  securing  the  return  of 
refugee  slaves. 

The  Seminoles  of  course  repudiated  the  treaty,  claiming 
they  were  an  independent  tribe,  subject  only  to  Spanish 
laws  —  as  every  American  knew.  Then  an  agent  was 
sent  to  Florida  to  negotiate  with  the  Spanish  authorities 
for  the  return  and  reenslavement  of  the  Exiles.  But  the 
Spaniards  would  not  have  it  —  would  not  recognize  the 
claim  of  the  Georgians  to  their  subjects,  red  or  black. 
Chafing  at  these  defeats,  the  Georgians  organized  a  force 
and  made  war  on  the  Creeks,  but  to  no  purpose  ;  and 
during  their  discomfiture  the  government  closed  a  treaty 
with  Great  Britian  (1795)  surrendering  all  claims  against 
that  nation  for  slaves  earned  away  from  the  United  States 


278  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

in  British  vessels  during  the  Revolution,  or  for  those  who 
enlisted  in  the  British  service.  This  was  a  sad  blow,  as 
slave-owners  had  counted  on  large  indemnity. 

There  were  other  treaties  with  the  Creeks,  in  which  the 
Seminoles  were  not  included,  although  the  slave-holders 
subsequently  maintained  that  they  were  still  a  part  of  the 
Creek  Nation.  They  went  all  lengths  to  keep  the  negroes 
in  bondage,  and  to  capture  estrays.  Thus,  when  the 
Quakers,  in  the  honesty  of  their  faith,  emancipated  their 
slaves  upon  the  adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, the  slave-owners  arrested  the  free  blacks  on  the 
charge  of  being  "fugitives  from  labor."  The  Quakers 
contested  and  obtained  a  decision  for  the  blacks  in  the 
highest  State  courts. 

Then  the  legislature  of  North  Carolina  passed  a  law 
empowering  persons  possessing  landed  property  to  seize 
and  reenslave  the  emancipated  negroes.  The  planters 
would  not  stoop  to  it  themselves,  but  they  got  a  law 
passed  authorizing  any  person  to  seize,  imprison,  and  sell 
the  free  blacks.  This  gave  the  gamblers  and  speculators  a 
chance.  Terrible  scenes  ensued.  Most  of  the  blacks  were 
ultimately  forced  back  into  slavery.  Of  course,  they 
escaped  as  soon  as  opportunity  offered,  having  once  tasted 
of  liberty.  During  this  time  the  Southern  Indians  were 
going  more  into  the  slavery  business,  mainly  by  capturing 
estrays;  and  in  1802  Congress  was  kind  enough  to  the 
slave-holders  to  pass  an  act  indemnifying  them  for  slaves 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  279 

escaping  to  Indians  in  any  part  of  the  United  States.  In 
1811  Congress  passed  an  act  for  acquiring  Florida  in  the 
interest  of  the  planters,  thus  to  destroy  the  refuge  of  the 
escaped  slaves,  and  to  reenslave  the  Exiles. 

Governor  Mathews  of  Georgia  now  headed  an  armed 
expedition  into  Florida,  ostensibly  to  assist  in  an  insur- 
rection against  Spanish  authority  which  had  been  worked 
up.  The  Spaniards  complained  to  the  government,  and 
the  expedition  was  recalled.  But  Mathews  seemed  to  con- 
sider that  his  State  was  competent  to  declare  war  or  make 
treaties,  for  the  next  year  he  organized  an  army  and 
entered  Florida  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  exterminating 
the  Seminoles,  who  were  regarded  as  the  protectors  of  the 
Exiles.  The  buccaneers  destroyed  some  settlements,  but 
became  surrounded  by  foes  of  all  kinds  and  had  to  retreat. 
They  conducted  themselves  as  barbarians.  Not  being  able 
to  catch  their  former  slaves,  they  robbed  all  in  their  course, 
including  the  Spaniards  of  their  peons. 

The  Georgians  again  appealed  to  the  government,  and, 
not  getting  aid,  resolved  to  redress  their  "  wrongs  "  them- 
selves. Their  legislature  passed  a  resolution  declaring  the 
occupation  of  Florida  —  that  is,  the  forcible  seizure  of  it 
—  as  "  essential  to  the  safety  and  welfare  of  our  people, 
whether  Congress  authorizes  it  or  not";  and  they  also 
passed  an  act  to  raise  a  force  to  reduce  St.  Augustine  and 
punish  the  Indians.  Under  this  formal  declaration  of  war, 
made  by  a  State  against  a  nation  with  which  the  Union 


280  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

was  at  peace,  Georgia  enlisted  another  army  of  spoliation, 
five  hundred  strong,  consisting  largely  of  hunters,  trappers, 
and  backwoods  vagabonds.  This  invasion  of  Florida  was 
somewhat  more  successful  than  the  previous  one.  It  de- 
stroyed several  villages,  and  drove  away  herds  of  cattle 
belonging  to  the  Exiles,  whose  homes  and  crops  they  had 
ruined.  But  it  failed  to  catch  either  the  Exiles  or  their 
defenders,  the  Seminoles. 

The  wilds  and  brakes  were  too  deep  and  dense.  The 
negroes  and  Indians  could  secrete  themselves  in  the  jungles 
and  defy  their  persecutors.  So,  after  a  struggle  lasting 
two  years,  ending  May,  1813,  the  Georgians  found  them- 
selves unable  to  conquer  Florida.  However,  the  Federal 
government  had  made  no  protest  against  their  trying.  It 
was,  in  truth,  too  busy  with  other  matters,  having  its 
second  war  with  England  on  hand.  Great  Britain  took 
notice,  nevertheless,  and  sent  a  fleet,  under  Lord  Cochrane, 
into  Chesapeake  Bay,  issued  a  proclamation  inviting  all 
persons  (meaning  slaves)  who  desired  to  emigrate  from 
the  United  States  to  come  with  their  families  on  board, 
and  giving  them  the  choice  of  entering  the  naval  service, 
or  of  settling  in  freedom  in  any  of  the  British  West 
Indies. 

This  breach  of  morality  by  the  British  in  tempting  away 
the  lawful  property  of  the  planters  gave  the  latter  a  shock. 
It  threatened  for  a  while  to  rid  them  of  all  their  human 
chattels.  The  saddest  thing  about  it  was,  of  course,  the 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  281 

interruption  of  the  Christianizing  of  the  said  chattels; 
that  beneficence  being  the  first  foundation-stone  of  the 
"  institution."  But  British  interference  did  not  rest  with 
that.  Two  of  their  sloops  of  war  entered  Apalachicola 
Bay,  landed  marines  under  Lieutenant  Nichols,  and  opened 
communication  with  the  Exiles.  These  negroes  and  In- 
dians, pure  and  mixed,  were  furnished  arms  and  ammu- 
nition, and  employed  by  the  lieutenant  in  building  a  fort 
for  their  defence,  which  subsequently  bore  the  names  both 
of  Fort  Nichols  and  of  Fort  Blount. 

The  American  navy  chased  the  British  away,  but  the 
fort  with  its  strong  armament  and  military  stores  remained 
in  possession  of  the  Exiles.  It  became  the  centre  of  their 
habitations,  and  they  cultivated  fields  for  a  distance  of 
fifty  miles  around,  along  the  water-courses. 

Now  it  appears  from  the  accounts  of  Mr.  William  Jay 
and  Mr.  J.  R.  Giddings,  the  principal  authorities  on  this 
subject,  that  these  Exiles  and  Seminoles  were  a  quiet,  un- 
offending people,  cultivating  the  arts  of  peace  in  innocence 
and  simplicity,  and  asking  only  to  be  left  to  their  own  as 
free  Spanish  subjects.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  how- 
ever, that  both  of  those  authors  wrote  with  the  object  of 
making  out  the  worst  possible  case  against  slavery  and  the 
Georgian  slave-traders.  That  they  pictured  the  Arcadian 
peace  and  inoffensiveness  of  this  retreat  in  too  happy 
colors  can  hardly  be  doubted.  The  true  condition  of  the 
Exiles  and  their  Seminole  friends  was  that  of  a  mild 


282  THE  GLORY   SEEKERS 

barbarism.  The  escaped  slaves  were  in  a  state  much  like 
that  of  their  original  existence,  and  of  the  existence  of 
their  ancestors,  in  Africa.  Their  intermarriage  with  the 
Seminoles  produced  a  race  that  cannot  be  classed  as 
superior  to  either  the  Indians  or  negroes.  Education  was 
of  the  most  rudimentary  kind.  Their  morals  were  the 
morals  of  barbarism  ;  their  principal  vice,  that  of  white 
men  —  whiskey.  And  that  many  animals  stolen  from  the 
plantations  in  Georgia,  as  well  as  runaway  slaves,  found 
their  way  to  these  settlements,  is  altogether  likely.  Being 
in  such  close  reach  of  the  slave-tilled  plantations,  they 
unquestionably  were  a  source  of  much  vexation  to  the 
Georgians,  and  if  only  their  removal  had  been  demanded 
when  Florida  came  into  possession  of  the  Union,  there 
would  have  been  little  cause  for  censure. 

But  that  was  not  the  object  of  the  Georgians.  They 
persistently  claimed  ownership  of  the  Exiles,  and  of  their 
offspring.  They  would  not  recognize  that  any  negro  had 
a  right  to  exist  free,  nor  did  they  ever  admit  that  former 
slaves,  and  the  children  of  former  slaves,  had  any  right  of 
protection  under  Spanish  laws  on  Spanish  soil.  Any 
escaped  slave  should  be  caught  wherever  found  ;  and  they 
referred  to  the  Exiles  only  as  negroes  and  outlaws. 

Peace  having  come  to  the  country  once  more,  the  army 
along  the  Southern  frontiers  was  idle.  The  officers  were 
mostly  Southerners  who  sympathized  with  the  Georgian 
view  of  the  negro.  It  appears  strange  that  they  should 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  283 

have  had  no  higher  regard  for  the  comity  of  nations  than 
the  slavers  had,  but  it  is  a  fact  that  in  1816  General  Gaines, 
commanding  in  Georgia,  urged  upon  his  superiors  an  in- 
vasion of  Spanish  territory  for  the  purpose  of  recapturing 
alleged  fugitive  slaves. 

General  Gaines  wrote  to  this  effect  to  General  Jackson, 
who  commanded  the  Southwestern  military  district,  with 
headquarters  at  Nashville.  He  represented  to  Jackson  that 
Fort  Nichols,  the  one  left  by  the  British,  had  been  erected 
for  rapine  and  plunder ;  that  it  was  a  rendezvous  for  such, 
and  that  it  ought  to  be  blown  up.  This  is  the  same 
General  Gaines  who,  in  after  years,  married  the  heiress 
Myra  Clarke  at  New  Orleans,  and  in  his  later  life  showed 
a  much  juster  appreciation  of  the  human  as  well  as  legal 
rights  of  the  poor  wretches  against  whom  he  now  planned 
unholy  war. 

General  Jackson  looked  only  at  the  emergency  as  it 
was  presented  to  him,  and  finally  wrote  Gaines  as  to 
his  opinions  about  the  fort.  "And  if  your  mind  shall 
have  formed  the  same  conclusion,1'  he  advised,  "  destroy  it 
and  return  the  stolen  negroes  and  property  to  their  right- 
ful owners."  This  quotation  from  his  order  shows  clearly 
what  the  object  of  the  invasion  was  to  be  —  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  to  catch  fugitive  slaves  and  destroy  their 
stronghold,  so  that  future  escaped  slaves  might  not  find 
an  asylum  in  it ;  and  the  fiction  reiterated  by  the 
Georgians  that  the  Exiles  were  stolen  from  them  and  held 


284  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

by  the  Seminoles  apparently  was  honestly  believed  by 
the  General.  The  fort  was  sixty  miles  from  the  Georgia 
border ;  and  in  all  the  official  correspondence  there  is  not 
a  word  of  proof  or  attempt  at  proof  that  the  Exiles  had 
been  stolen  ;  and  what  is  much  more  remarkable,  there  is 
not  a  specific  complaint  of  any  hostile  act  or  depredation 
of  the  Seminoles  or  Exiles  against  the  Georgians. 

Mr.  Giddings,  whose  history  of  this  outrage  is  full  and 
searching,  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  Congress  from 
Ohio,  and  a  man  of  force  and  ability.  His  statements 
have  never  been  refuted,  nor  even  (except  as  to  his  senti- 
ments and  comments)  seriously  challenged.  He  says  of 
this  raid :  "  Perhaps  no  portion  of  our  national  history 
exhibits  such  disregard  of  international  law  as  this  unpro- 
voked invasion  of  Florida.  Who  authorized  any  Ameri- 
can official  to  dictate  to  Spanish  officials  as  to  their 
forts  ?  "  It  was,  in  plain  words,  rank  buccaneering,  par- 
ticipated in  by  the  United  States  army  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  greedy  slave-jobbers.  War  was  declared  by  the 
Executive  without  consulting  Congress,  and  that  body 
uttered  no  word  of  protest. 

Another  remarkable  thing  about  it  was  that  the  people 
of  the  United  States  were  ignorant  of  what  was  done.  It 
was  represented  by  the  press  as  a  campaign  for  the  punish- 
ment of  predatory  Indians ;  and  even  historians,  as  a  rule, 
have  failed  to  explain  the  true  object.  It  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Seminole  wars  which  lasted  many  years  and 


MRS.   MYRA  CLARK  GAINES 

The  renowned  heiress-litigant 


, 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  285 

wore  out  the  patience  and  resources  of  the  government, 
cost  millions  of  treasure,  and  thousands  of  lives.  Yet 
there  are  voluminous  histories  of  those  campaigns  that  do 
not  mention  the  real  cause  that  led  up  to  them.  General 
Jackson  cannot  be  held  alone  responsible.  He  had  his 
instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  War ;  and  Commodore 
Patterson,  who  cooperated  by  sea,  had  his  from  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  both  in  regular  order.  Not  even  did 
these  orders  recite  any  hostile  acts  as  having  been  com- 
mitted by  the  Exiles. 

The  invading  force  was  placed  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Clinch.  As  he  advanced  into  their  country  the 
Exiles  (now  mainly  descendants  of  the  original  refugees, 
their  chief  crime  consisting  in  their  parents  having  been 
slaves)  fled  to  the  fort,  the  walls  of  which  were  eighteen 
feet  high  and  twelve  feet  thick.  In  it  was  much  valuable 
property.  Its  site  had  been  well  chosen  for  repelling  at- 
tacks, and  into  it  now  were  crowded  warriors,  women,  and 
children.  Three  gunboats  under  sailing-master  Loomis 
came  up  the  bay  to  assist  in  the  attack.  Loomis  and 
Clinch  did  not  agree  as  to  the  methods  to  be  pursued,  the 
latter  having  very  little  heart  for  wanton  destruction  of 
lives.  Like  Gaines,  he  was  in  later  life  one  of  the  few 
outspoken  advocates  of  justice  to  the  unfortunates  now 
suffering  at  his  hands.  But  he  had  his  orders ;  and 
accompanying  the  regular  troops  was  a  company  of  Creeks, 
foes  of  the  Seminoles,  who  were  enlisted  in  the  service  with 


286  THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

the  agreement  that  they  should  share  in  the  plunder. 
This  plunder  was  expected  to  be  mainly  human  beings. 

The  attack  on  Fort  Nichols  had  at  first  little  effect. 
Even  the  heavy  shot  from  the  gunboats  did  not  penetrate 
its  walls ;  but  after  some  hours  of  firing  one  reached  the 
powder  magazine  in  which  there  was  a  large  storage,  and 
the  explosion  that  followed  was  fiendish  in  its  havoc. 
There  were  three  hundred  and  thirty-four  souls  in  the 
fort.  Of  these,  two  hundred  and  seventy  were  sent 
instantly  to  eternity ;  sixty-one  persons  were  wounded, 
some  frightfully  mangled,  others  slightly ;  and  only  three 
escaped  injury. 

But  this  was  not  all,  —  perhaps  not  the  worst.  Many 
of  the  sixty-one  wounded  were  delivered  over  to  the  Indian 
allies  of  the  white  men.  It  seems  incredible  that  civilized 
beings,  Americans,  to  say  nothing  of  officers  of  the  United 
States  army,  could  ever  have  done  such  a  devilish  thing, 
but  the  proof  is  irrefutable.  Among  the  wounded  victims 
were  some  against  whom  the  Creeks  had  a  savage  grudge, 
and  they  took  the  unfortunate  creatures  and  tortured 
them  in  the  presence  of  the  American  soldiers.  All  who 
were  not  seriously  wounded  were  enslaved,  and  the  others 
massacred ! 

The  enslaved  victims  were  taken  to  Georgia  and,  for  the 
most  part,  delivered  over  to  the  men,  gentlemen  planters, 
who  claimed  to  be  the  heirs  of  those  who,  two  and  three 
generations  previously,  owned,  as  alleged,  the  ancestors  of 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  287 

the  captives  !  Deliveries  were  made  on  simple  claim,  with- 
out proof  before  court  or  magistrate,  or  any  other  formality, 
no  evidences  of  identity,  or  even  of  descent.  It  was  a 
transaction  of  honor!  May  we  not  pardon  Congressman 
Giddings  for  showing  a  slight  "prejudice  "  in  his  book  ? 

Perhaps  we  should  be  prepared  for  the  wave  of  execra- 
tion that  must  sweep  the  land,  especially  because  of  the 
•employment  of  the  United  States  army  and  navy  in  such 
inhuman  business.  But  nobody  seems  to  have  raised  a 
voice.  It  was  not  advertised.  The  people  in  the  South 
approved,  and  those  in  the  North  knew  hardly  anything 
about  it.  Twenty-two  years  afterward  a  bill  was  in- 
troduced in  Congress  appropriating  $5000  to  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  navy  who  participated  in  this  slave- 
hatching  campaign  —  a  campaign  marked  by  as  hideous 
savagery  in  warfare  as  any  in  American  history,  between 
-either  savage  or  civilized  races  —  as  special  compensation 
for  their  "  gallant  services  "  ! 

Startling  to  relate,  the  bill  was  favorably  reported  by 
Ingham  of  Connecticut,  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
naval  affairs  ;  no  opposition  was  raised,  and  it  passed. 
"  The  people  of  the  United  States  paid  that  bonus  for  the 
perpetration  of  one  of  the  darkest  crimes  which  stains 
the  history  of  any  civilization."  Perhaps  it  may  lessen  the 
wonder  if  one  recollects  that  at  the  time  it  was  considered 
very  bad  form  to  agitate  in  Congress  any  question  relating 
to  slavery,  for  fear  of  injuring  somebody's  sensitive  feelings. 


288  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

About  one-third  of  all  the  Exiles  in  Florida  perished  or 
were  reenslaved.  Practically  the  first  that  the  country 
heard  about  the  invasion  was  when  the  subject  came  to  be 
debated  in  Congress.  The  ablest  members  of  that  body, 
and  the  ablest  supporters  of  the  administration,  taxed  their 
ingenuity  and  brought  their  highest  powers  of  rhetoric 
into  play  in  vindication  of  those  concerned  in  the  outrage. 
No  action  was  taken  by  Congress.  It  was  twenty  years 
later  when  the  full  facts  were  published  by  William  Jay, 
of  New  York. 

The  Seminole  and  Exile  survivors,  believing  they  would 
be  attacked  again,  prepared  for  war.  They  bought  arms 
of  the  Spaniards  and  the  English,  and  drilled  in  companies 
along  the  Georgia  frontier.  They  were  given  time  to 
raise  and  gather  a  crop,  as  no  further  motion  was  made 
against  them  till  November,  1817.  Then  a  Lieutenant 
Scott  and  about  forty  men,  making  a  journey  along  the 
Apalachicola  for  the  protection  of  American  settlers,  as 
alleged,  were  attacked.  They  had  with  them  a  number 
of  women  and  children,  and  all  were  slain.  Not  a  soldier 
survived.  One  woman  only  was  taken  prisoner. 

Now  this  outrage  was  heralded  over  the  whole  country. 
The  land  was  in  a  flame  of  indignation  over  the  atrocity. 
No  reference  was  made  to  the  previous  campaign  and  its 
slaughter.  On  the  contrary,  the  President,  in  a  proclama- 
tion, said  of  the  Seminoles  "  the  hostilities  of  this  tribe 
were  unprovoked " ;  and,  "  as  almost  the  whole  of  this 


THE  GLORY   SEEKERS  289 

tribe  inhabit  the  country  within  the  limits  of  Florida, 
Spain  is  bound  by  the  treaty  of  1795  to  restrain  them 
from  committing  depredations  against  the  United  States." 

The  army  was  now  sent  to  prosecute  the  war.  Jackson 
was  ordered  to  the  field,  and  to  call  out  the  militia  of 
Tennessee  and  Georgia.  Congress  quickly  made  an  ap- 
propriation, and  every  orator  proclaimed  the  cause  of  the 
war  as  the  Scott  massacre.  The  authors  cited  herein 
assert  that  the  record  does  not  show  one  of  them  to  have 
mentioned  the  wanton  massacre  of  the  slave-catching  in- 
vasion of  the  year  before  as  having  anything  to  do  with 
it.  The  initiative  and  blame  were  all  laid  to  the  simple 
people  in  the  jungle  who  had  acted  in  self-protection. 

General  Jackson  marched  into  Florida  with  three  thou- 
sand men  —  one  thousand  regulars  and  two  thousand 
volunteers,  including  Creek  auxiliaries.  He  drove  the 
Seminoles  before  him  to  Fort  St.  Mark,  and  captured  it. 
An  American  gunboat  in  Apalachicola  Bay  hoisted  a  British 
flag  as  a  decoy,  enticed  two  Seminole  chiefs  on  board  by  the 
deception,  and  Jackson  had  them  hanged.  Valiant  warfare, 
indeed  !  He  also  hanged  two  Englishmen,  Arbuthnot  and 
Armbrister,  on  the  charge  of  inciting  Indians  to  war.  The 
facts  concerning  the  whole  wretched  business  were  discred- 
itable to  the  Americans,  and  consequently  were  misrepre- 
sented, —  as,  for  example,  the  General's  letter  to  the 
Spanish  Governor  of  Pensacola  in  attempted  justification 
of  his  bringing  an  American  army  into  Spanish  territory : 

19 


290  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

"  Negroes  who  have  fled  from  their  masters,  citizens  of  the 
United  States  have  raised  the  tomahawk,  and  in  the  char- 
acter of  savage  warfare  have  spared  neither  age  nor  sex. 
Helpless  women  have  been  massacred,  and  the  cradle  crim- 
soned with  blood."" 

Had  the  General  forgotten  his  ordering  troops  against 
those  people,  when  they  were  peaceable  and  unprepared 
for  violence,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  reenslaving  them, 
and  the  horrible  massacres  his  minions  wrought  ?  The 
time  had  been  too  short ! 

After  burning  a  few  villages,  and  in  two  engagements 
killing  a  lot  of  the  best  men  of  the  Exiles,  the  army  with- 
drew. The  Exiles  had  removed  their  families  and  cattle 
to  the  jungle  and  could  not  be  followed.  It  was  a  practi- 
cal victory  for  them ;  and  negroes  escaping  from  Georgia 
continued  to  swell  their  numbers.  The  Georgians,  more 
clamorous  than  before,  now  agitated  for  the  purchase  of 
Florida  by  the  government.  The  administration  had  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  only  way  to  abolish  the  slave 
refuge  was  to  buy  the  Territory  ;  and  negotiations  were 
opened.  In  February,  1819,  the  transfer  was  made,  the 
consideration  being  $5,000,000.  Under  a  new  treaty  with 
the  Creeks  the  government  agreed  to  pay  $250,000  in  in- 
stalments for  about  5,000,000  acres  of  their  lands,  —  this 
being  another  sop  to  Georgia.  Also  the  United  States  as- 
sumed the  still  urgently  asserted  claims  of  Georgia  against 
the  Creeks  for  payment  of  slaves  "  stolen,"  not  to  exceed 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  291 

$250,000  ;  and  Georgia  assigned  her  old  claim  for  Exiles 
to  the  government  to  be  held  in  trust  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Creeks.  This  in  effect  made  the  Exiles  the  property 
of  the  United  States. 

Treaties,  and  the  terms  of  treaties,  are  usually  about  as 
spirited  and  interesting  reading  as  a  grocer's  price-list ;  but 
there  are  a  few  points  about  this  one  that  verge  on  the 
humorous.  For  instance,  the  government,  having  agreed 
to  pay  the  Georgians  for  slaves  not  exceeding  $250,000, 
made  an  investigation,  and  could  find  but  $109,000  due  on 
such  claims,  which  was  paid.  That  left  $141,000  of  the 
appropriation.  We  must  remember,  this  was  in  1819* 
In  1834  the  slavers  put  in  a  claim  for  that  $141,000  as 
an  indemnity,  —  "  for  the  loss  of  the  offspring  which  the 
Exiles  would  have  borne  to  their  masters  had  they  re- 
mained in  bondage"! 

But  that  is  not  the  humorous  part  of  it.  The  bill  was 
approved  by  Congress  without  protest  and  was  paid,  —  for 
children  who  never  were  born  !  Yet  funnier  things  trans- 
pired. In  1848  the  Creeks  were  paid  the  $141,000  on  a 
claim  which  they  put  in  for  it ;  and  so  the  previous  pay- 
ment of  it  to  the  Georgians  turned  out  to  be  purely  a 
donation  to  them  for  being  in  the  slave  business. 

Florida  was  now  a  part  of  the  United  States,  the  slave 
code  of  which  presumed  every  black  man  a  slave  unless  he 
could  prove  his  freedom.  No  Exile  could  do  this.  They 
were  now  at  the  mercy  of  the  slave-catcher,  who  had  only 


292  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

to  prove  ownership  of  some  negro,  and  have  any  one  seized. 
The  government  now  recognized  the  Seminoles  as  a  sepa- 
rate tribe,  and  exacted  a  stipulation  that  they  should  aid 
in  preventing  the  escape  of  slaves  ;  and  the  Indians  agreed 
to  use  all  necessary  vigilance  in  apprehending  and  deliver- 
ing fugitives  to  the  Indian  agents,  who  were  to  compen- 
sate them.  So  now  their  old  friends  were,  nominally 
at  least,  enemies  of  the  Exiles.  The  Indian  Department, 
through  its  agents,  was  becoming  a  sort  of  slave-catching 
bureau. 

There  were  many  complications.  Sometimes  an  Indian 
and  a  white  man  claimed  the  same  Exile.  At  another 
time  a  white  dealer  would  seize  a  slave  belonging  to  an 
Indian.  Sometimes  the  cunning  Indian  would  entice  a 
slave  to  escape,  and  then  claim  him  as  his  own.  In  1835 
a  driver  from  Columbus,  Georgia,  one  Milton,  laid  claim 
to  twenty  slaves  of  old  Chief  Econchattimico.  Living  on 
the  Reservation  with  these  serfs  were  twenty  Exiles  who 
had  never  known  slavery.  The  chief  had  named  them  as 
his  friends,  and  a  record  of  it  was  deposited  with  the  com- 
missioner of  Indian  affairs.  Milton  wanted  both  slaves  and 
Exiles,  claiming  to  have  bought  them  of  a  Creek.  The 
claim  was  denied  by  the  Federal  Court.  Then  Milton  sold 
his  alleged  claim  to  other  man-stealers,  who  went  with 
bloodhounds,  manacles,  and  chains  to  run  the  blacks  off. 
But  the  latter  were  armed  by  the  chief  for  self-defence. 
Seeing  this,  and  being  too  cowardly  to  attack  armed 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  293 

negroes,  the  man-thieves  circulated  the  story  that  the 
blacks  were  arming  to  attack  the  whites. 

Upon  this  the  militia  was  marched  to  the  Reservation. 
The  old  chief  explained  the  cause  of  the  arming  —  to 
prevent  captivity.  The  militia  officers  told  him  it  made 
trouble,  and  by  assuring  his  people  protection,  induced 
them  to  give  up  their  arms.  Next  day  all  the  poor 
wretches  were  taken  by  the  slavers,  marched  in  chains  to 
Georgia,  and  sold.  There  was  no  redress,  —  negroes  had 
no  rights.  Many  similar  outrages  occurred,  and  were 
winked  at  by  the  government  agents  —  but  such  things 
really  should  not  be  recounted  now  for  fear  of  stirring 
alive  old  animosities. 

And  besides,  it  only  properly  belongs  to  the  story  to 
tell  what  finally  became  of  the  Exiles,  or  Florida  Maroons, 
and  not  go  into  the  ensuing  Seminole  wars.  In  1835, 
the  government  determined  to  transport  all  of  the  Semi- 
noles  and  Exiles  to  the  Indian  Territory.  This  they  re- 
sisted ;  and  that  brought  on  the  second  Seminole  War. 
The  Exiles  now  numbered  about  twelve  hundred,  besides 
about  two  hundred  slaves  belonging  to  the  Indians.  They 
retreated  far  inland,  and  Generals  Scott,  Jessup,  Arm- 
strong, Call,  Taylor,  and  Worth,  in  turn,  did  their  utmost 
to  hunt  them  out.  They  had  thousands  of  troops,  but 
they  could  not  find  the  foe.  They  also  engaged  the 
assistance  of  the  Creeks,  yet  the  war  was  practically  a 
failure.  Finally,  the  Seminoles  were  promised  safety  if 


294  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

they  and  their  "  allies  "  would  go  West.  Thus  the  gov- 
ernment recognized  the  Exiles  as  allies  of  the  Indians,  and 
General  Jessup,  who  concluded  the  agreement,  so  con- 
strued it. 

But  the  Georgian  slave-holders  came  forward  to  object. 
To  that  gentry  the  war  had  not  been  merely  to  rid 
Florida  of  savages,  but  rather  to  recapture  refugee  negroes 
for  themselves ;  and  failure  in  that  respect  they  called  "  a 
sacrifice  of  national  dignity."  A  number  of  the  Exiles 
being  caught  by  them,  the  Seminoles  charged  bad  faith, 
refused  to  assemble  for  removal,  and  the  results  of  the 
long  war  were  annulled.  Then  General  Taylor  refused 
bluntly  to  continue  the  work  of  tracking  refugees.  The 
troops  were  disgusted  with  the  service,  and  well  they 
might  be ;  for  a  few  hundred  blacks  in  the  Everglades  had 
maintained  their  liberty  against  the  power  of  the  govern- 
ment and  the  villanies  of  the  slavers  for  decades. 

Gradually  they  were  taken  in  small  parties,  mainly 
through  strategy,  and  sent  to  the  West.  The  Exiles  in 
some  instances  were  treated  as  the  property  of  the  Semi- 
noles. In  other  cases,  they  were  given  over  to  slaver 
claimants.  The  government  took  one  lot  of  a  hundred 
and  sold  them,  then  rescinded  the  action,  called  them 
prisoners  of  war,  and  started  them  Westward.  More  than 
five  hundred  were  enslaved  between  1835  and  1843,  about 
one-half  of  whom  were  born  free.  The  remainder  were 
gradually  absorbed  in  the  Indian  tribes. 


GENERAL  EDMUND  P.   GAINES 

Commander  of  the  Department  of  the  Southwest 


••:. 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  295 

The  hundred  which  the  government  sent  West  were 
reunited  with  a  company  of  their  Seminole  relatives  at 
New  Orleans.  Here  a  slave  agent  named  Collins,  acting 
for  a  Georgia  dealer  named  Watson,  appeared  with  an 
order  for  the  Exiles  approved  by  the  government,  on  the 
claim  that  they  belonged  to  the  Creeks.  Another  slaver 
named  Love  laid  claim  to  sixty  others  who  had  arrived  at 
New  Orleans.  All  these  negroes  and  Indians  were  under 
the  charge  and  authority  of  General  Gaines,  commanding 
the  Western  military  district.  Although  this  last  claim 
was  approved  by  a  State  court,  Gaines  refused  to  deliver 
the  victims.  Other  claimants  from  Georgia  arrived.  But 
it  was  difficult  to  select  the  negroes,  or  half-breeds,  from 
the  Indians ;  and  besides,  the  latter  grew  threatening  and 
declared  they  would  fight  before  submitting  to  a  separa- 
tion. At  last,  thirty-one  negroes  were  picked  out,  and 
all  remaining  of  both  races  were  started  by  boat  up  river 
for  Fort  Gibson.  Collins  followed  and  overtook  them  at 
Vicksburg.  Here  he  showed  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  who 
had  charge  of  the  emigrants,  orders  for  the  negroes 
approved  by  the  President.  But  Reynolds  feared  the  re- 
sistance of  the  Indians,  and  could  not  comply.  Collins 
went  with  him  to  Little  Rock,  where  appeal  was  made  to 
the  Governor.  That  official  declared  there  was  no  way  to 
identify  negroes  claimed  by  Collins,  and  advised  Reynolds 
to  proceed  to  his  destination  with  his  charges. 

Finally  they  arrived  in  the  Indian  Territory,  and  were 


296  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

soon  joined  by  the  thirty-one  who  had  been  retained  at 
New  Orleans,  and  whom  General  Gaines  had  succeeded  in 
keeping  out  of  the  clutches  of  the  slavers.  But  they  had 
no  separate  lands  in  the  new  Territory,  and  would  not 
join  the  Creeks,  their  old  enemies,  as  the  government 
foolishly  expected  them  to  do.  At  length  they  settled  on 
lands  tendered  them  by  the  more  enlightened  Cherokees. 
But  they  were  not  to  be  left  in  peace.  The  Creeks  were  a 
slave-holding  nation.  They  began  to  claim  the  Exiles  as 
their  slaves.  The  government,  under  an  opinion  of  the 
attorney-general,  refused  to  protect  them.  The  secret  of 
the  Creeks'  claims  was  that  slave-drivers  from  the  South 
came  among  them  and  offered  them  $100  for  each  Exile 
they  would  seize  and  deliver. 

Under  this  stimulus  the  Creeks  made  a  raid  on  the 
Exiles,  and  captured  several  thousand  dollars'  worth  of 
them.  The  slavers  started  homeward  with  these,  gang- 
chained  in  the  customary  way.  The  Seminole  agent  went 
to  a  judge  in  Arkansas  and  obtained  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  for  the  poor  captives.  The  Exiles  were  brought 
before  him,  and  he  decided  that  the  title  of  the  Creeks 
was  "  legal  and  perfect ;  and  they  having  sold  them  to 
the  possessor,  his  title  must  be  good."  Upon  this  odious 
decision  the  stolen  Exiles  were  taken  to  the  slave  mart  of 
New  Orleans  and  sold  at  auction. 

There  were  yet  some  hundreds  of  the  Exiles  in  the  In- 
dian Territory.  They  knew  that  the  same  fate  hung  over 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  297 

them,  and  that  the  only  way  to  avoid  it  was  to  flee  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  United  States.  They  decided  to  emi- 
grate to  Mexico,  a  free  country.  Some  three  hundred 
made  secret  preparation  for  the  long  journey,  and  stole 
away  in  the  night.  The  Creeks,  discovering  their  depart- 
ure, sent  a  war  party  in  pursuit,  —  the  Exiles  were  too 
profitable  to  let  slip  away.  But  the  Creeks  were  de- 
feated, and  retreated,  leaving  their  dead  on  the  field; 
and  the  Exiles  proceeded.  In  time,  they  entered  Mexico 
and  established  themselves  near  the  ancient  town  of  Santa 
Rosa,  where  they  found  good  lands  to  cultivate.  It  was 
truly  their  Canaan.  Here  they  built  cabins  and  planted 
gardens  and  fields,  and,  being  far  from  the  borders  of  a 
slave  land,  one  might  suppose  they  had  at  last  found  an 
asylum  of  safety. 

Not  so.  Planters  of  Texas  learned  about  them,  and 
complained  that  runaway  slaves  from  that  State  joined 
the  Exiles.  On  this  plea  a  band  of  Texan  slave-catchers 
made  a  descent  on  them ;  but  it  is  cheerful  to  read  that  it 
returned  with  diminished  numbers,  and  with  no  captives. 
But  not  till  slavery  was  abolished  in  all  America  could 
this  little  community  of  Exiles,  whose  struggles  form  a 
unique  chapter  in  the  history  of  human  persecution,  feel 
secure  in  its  hard- won  liberty. 


CHAPTER   XV 


Texans  Covet  New  Mexico  —  Ill-judged  Expedition  to  Santa  F6  — 
Mediceval  Warfare  —  Texans  all  Prisoners  —  Predicament  of  an 
Editor. 

N  undertaking  in 
the  Southwest  which 
created  an  inter- 
national sensation 
some  two-thirds  of 
a  century  ago,  but 
which  has  been  long 
forgotten,  was  known 
as  the  Texan-Santa 
Fe  Expedition.  Al- 
though set  on  by 
the  highest  officials 
of  the  Republic  of 
Texas,  it  properly 
*  enough  belongs  in 


the  category  of  American  aggression  in  that  region. 

After  Texas  secured  her  independence,  she  laid  claim  to 
all  the  territory  east  of  the  Rio  Grande  up  to  its  source, 
although  the  maps  were  not  nearly  unanimous  as  to  where 
that  was.  The  Mexican  government  never  admitted  it, 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  299 

and  maintained  sovereignty  over  the  whole  of  New  Mexico. 
If  there  was  anything  among  the  necessities  of  men  or 
nations  which  Texas  did  not  require  during  the  years 
following  her  independence,  it  was  more  land.  Only  a 
small  fraction  of  her  territory  was  occupied,  except  by 
savages.  Indeed,  she  did  not  know  how  extensive  her 
possessions  were,  leaving  out  of  the  problem  her  claim  to 
the  Rio  Grande,  as  her  northern  boundaries  were  ill- 
defined. 

Besides  this,  the  new  republic  was  weak  in  everything 
—  population,  ready  resources,  and  means  of  defence 
against  both  civilized  and  savage  enemies.  She  was  in 
debt,  the  revenues  were  inadequate,  and  her  situation  was 
anything  but  secure.  Yet  among  the  first  things  the 
Texans  did  was  to  plan  for  conquest.  It  seemed  to  be 
such  a  natural  occupation  to  be  clashing  with  Mexico  that 
they  were  uneasy  when  not  at  it.  So  a  bill  was  intro- 
duced in  both  Houses  of  their  Congress  for  fitting  out  an 
expedition  to  be  directed  against  New  Mexico. 

Congress  already  had  too  many  appropriations  to  pro- 
vide for,  and  did  not  adopt  the  bill.  Yet  most  of  the 
public  officials  favored  the  enterprise,  and  Mirabeau  B. 
Lamar,  then  President,  undertook  to  forward  it.  General 
Lamar  had  come  from  Mississippi,  knew  the  history  of  all 
former  buccaneering  expeditions  in  the  Southwest,  and  had 
been  a  prominent  fighter  for  the  Texas  separation.  The 
full  scope  of  his  scheme  is  doubtful.  But  that  he  placed 


300  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

the  expedition  on  a  war  footing  is  disproof  of  the  later 
contention  that  it  was  intended  to  be  entirely  pacific. 

It  was  an  ill-judged  and  audacious  project.  The  expe- 
dition was  poorly  equipped,  its  organization  was  ineffi- 
cient, and  its  management  from  start  to  final  disaster 
showed  no  ability,  either  military  or  executive.  In  fact, 
the  discomfiture  of  the  Texans  is  relieved  from  the  ludi- 
crous only  by  the  severity  of  their  humiliation  and 
sufferings. 

To  begin  with,  there  was  trouble  in  financing  the  enter- 
prise, which  made  it  two  months  late  in  setting  off,  —  a 
fatal  error.  It  started  from  Austin,  June  21,  1841,  and 
consisted  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  men,  of  which 
two  hundred  and  seventy  were  enlisted  for  arms  ;  the 
remainder  included  three  commissioners  appointed  by  the 
President,  scouts,  servants,  and  several  traders  who  went 
with  a  caravan  of  merchandise  intended  for  the  Santa 
Fe  market.  All  were  heavily  armed  and  mounted.  The 
soldiers  were  uniformed  with  dragoon  jackets  and  caps. 
The  armament  included  one  six-pounder  brass  cannon. 
The  caravan  numbered  twenty-four  wagons,  each  drawn 
by  three  or  four  yoke  of  oxen.  The  organization  was  in 
six  companies  under  Captains  Caldwell,  Sutton,  Houghton, 
Hudson,  Strain,  and  Lewis.  The  commander  was  General 
McLeod,  while  William  G.  Cooke,  R.  F.  Brenham,  and 
J.  A.  Navarro  composed  the  President's  commission  to  the 
people  of  New  Mexico. 


MIRABEAU  B.  LAMAR 

President  of  Texas 


THE  GLORY   SEEKERS  301 

So  far  as  ever  was  admitted  by  the  Texans,  the  objects 
of  the  movement  were  all  set  forth  in  Lamar's  proclama- 
tion to  the  New  Mexicans,  many  copies  of  which  the  com- 
missioners took  along  for  distribution.  It  declared  that 
Texas  considered  her  territory  rightfully  to  extend  to  the 
Rio  Grande,  and  said  to  the  people  of  Santa  Fe  that 
the  merchants  of  Texas  desired  to  open  up  commerce 
with  them ;  that  if  they,  the  people,  desired  to  share 
the  blessings  of  the  new  republic,  if  they  were  willing  to 
submit  to  the  laws  of  Texas  and  acknowledge  her  juris- 
diction, arrangements  would  gladly  be  made  to  extend 
such  control  over  them.  Otherwise,  friendly  commer- 
cial relations  only  would  be  established.  The  expedition 
was  not  to  attempt  the  subjugation  of  the  country  by 
violence. 

That  is  what  President  Lamar's  proclamation  said. 
But  there  were  many  besides  the  Mexicans  who  believed  it 
to  be  the  real  intention  to  subjugate  the  country ;  peace- 
ably, if  so  it  could  be  done,  otherwise  by  interesting  the 
inhabitants  in  trade,  and  then,  when  occasion  was  ripe,  by 
a  military  coup.  It  was  even  declared  by  some  that 
Lamar  was  aided  and  abetted  by  slavery  interests,  and 
that  sovereignty  over  all  the  territory  to  the  Pacific  was 
their  final  goal.  The  ablest  American  historians  have 
since  placed  that  construction  upon  it.  But  whatever 
were  the  real  intentions,  those  set  out  in  the  proclamation 
were  a  clear  notification  to  the  New  Mexican  officials  that 


302  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

the  bearers  of  it  had  designs  on  their  territory.  And 
when  it  was  accompanied  by  a  heavily  armed  military 
force,  those  officials  did  not  allow  a  few  wagon-loads  of 
merchandise  to  deceive  them.  That  President  Lamar  or 
any  sane  Texan  could  have  supposed  that  those  officials  or 
the  Mexican  government  would,  with  the  animosities  ex- 
isting between  the  two  countries  because  of  the  late  wars, 
submit  amicably  to  such  an  attempt  on  their  possessions, 
is  impossible  of  belief.  If  they  did,  it  was  a  striking 
example  of  human  credulity. 

At  the  setting  out  of  the  aggregation  they  were  all 
(save  one  man)  Texans.  Later,  when  in  sorry  captivity, 
many  of  them  claimed  to  be  citizens  or  subjects  of  other 
governments,  whose  protection  they  sought.  Among 
these  there  were,  of  course,  a  number  of  Americans  — citi- 
zens of  the  United  States.  Some  of  them,  it  is  fair  to 
credit,  did  not  understand  the  real  objects  of  the  adven- 
ture. The  most  important  personality  among  these  was 
George  Wilkins  Kendall,  who,  after  his  return,  wrote  a  two- 
volume  history  of  the  expedition,  from  which  this  story 
is  largely  derived.  Kendall  was  a  Vermonter  who  went 
South  and  established  the  New  Orleans  Picayune.  Feeling 
the  need  of  applying  a  bracer  to  his  constitution,  he 
planned  a  trip  through  Mexico ;  and  learning  of  this  expe- 
dition, decided  to  go  by  way  of  Santa  Fe,  and  joined  it  as 
a  guest.  He  had  a  passport  from  the  Mexican  consul  at 
New  Orleans,  and  a  letter  from  President  Lamar  stating 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  303 

that  he  was  a  traveller  and  in  no  way  connected  with  the 
enterprise ;  a  precaution  which,  in  itself,  indicates  grave 
doubts  as  to  the  kind  of  reception  with  which  they  might 
meet. 

Mr.  Kendall  asserts  that  the  expedition  was  unique; 
that  no  previous  attempt  had  been  made  on  this  continent 
to  cross  one  thousand  miles  of  wilderness  and  mountains, 
including  hundreds  of  miles  of  alkali  desert  unknown  to 
white  men,  infested  with  savages,  seared  by  many  rivers 
and  canons,  yet  with  vast  stretches  devoid  of  water. 
When  the  first  wagon-train  started  from  St.  Louis  for 
Santa  Fe,  every  part  of  the  route  had  been  thoroughly 
traversed.  But  Mr.  Kendall  was  not  quite  exact  in  the 
statement,  as  a  company  of  American  merchants  at  Chi- 
huahua the  previous  year  made  an  experimental  journey 
from  that  city  to  the  United  States,  with  a  train  of  eighty 
wagons.  They  came  by  El  Paso  and  through  "  the  cross 
timbers,1'  spending  five  months  in  cutting  through  that 
fearful  wilderness.  Incidentally,  it  may  be  noted  that  on 
their  return  an  American  circus,  full-panoplied,  made  the 
long  journey  with  this  caravan,  and  successfully '  toured 
the  Mexican  cities. 

At  the  time  of  the  Texan  expedition  there  was  no  civili- 
zation northwest  of  Austin,  whence  it  started.  The  idea 
was  to  follow  the  Brazos  River  northerly,  penetrate  the 
"  cross  timbers  "  to  the  Red  River,  and  follow  that  water- 
course, which  was  supposed  to  run  nearly  east  and  west. 


304  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

This  would  make  the  route  somewhat  on  the  line  of  a 
right  angle  and  longer,  but  would  keep  them  close  to  the 
water  supply.  It  is  astonishing  that  such  an  expedition 
should  set  off  without  guides  who  had  been  through  the 
territory  to  be  traversed,  but  so  it  did.  Rowland,  the 
chief  guide,  had  been  in  New  Mexico,  but  not  by  that 
way. 

They  expected  to  reach  Santa  Fe  in  six  weeks  or  two 
months.  But  they  had  been  out  only  a  few  days  when  the 
wagons  began  to  break  down.  It  shows  the  carelessness 
of  preparation  when  it  is  stated  that  many  of  them  were 
old,  and  all  were  much  too  heavily  loaded.  It  looked 
much  as  though  they  expected  to  find  macadamized  turn- 
pikes. A  spy  company  was  kept  a  day  in  advance  to  point 
the  best  route  and  find  water,  —  and  always  to  look  out  for 
Indians.  Three  days  brought  them  into  the  buffalo  lands, 
where  were  millions  of  the  beasts  (estimated),  and  they 
had  the  exciting  sport  of  the  chase,  as  well  as  the  savory 
roasts  resulting.  These  saved  the  beef  cattle,  a  large  herd 
of  which  was  driven  along  for  the  subsistence  of  the  train. 
No  bread  supplies  were  taken  along,  and  that  privation 
was  severely  felt  by  many. 

When  they  reached  the  valley  of  the  Brazos  they  found 
it  like  the  land  of  Eshcol ;  and  though  the  grapes  may 
not  have  been  quite  so  large,  there  were,  besides,  plums  and 
other  fruit  in  profusion.  Every  species  of  timber  known 
in  Texas  grew  there,  flanked  by  rich  prairies  teeming 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  305 

with  elk,  turkeys,  and  other  game.  There  were  spark- 
ling  streams  of  pure  water  alive  with  trout,  and  honey  in 
almost  every  hollow  tree.  To  make  this  natural  paradise 
complete,  there  was  no  Indian  "  sign.""  However,  the  water 
of  the  Brazos  was  brackish,  and  the  river  difficult  to  cross 
because  of  quicksands.  But  beyond  they  found  further 
comforts  at  the  sites  of  former  Indian  encampments.  Here 
were  examples  of  Nature's  farming,  unassisted.  Corn, 
melons,  and  pumpkins  were  growing  and  ripening  from 
accidental  seeds.  Cherokee  and  other  Indians  had  formerly 
cultivated  patches  on  the  Upper  Brazos,  —  it  was  now  a 
sort  of  lazy  man's  Elysium. 

All  this  was  changed  when  they  struck  into  the  "  cross 
timbers."  This  was  a  dreary  wilderness  of  gnarled  black- 
jack and  post-oak,  with  an  almost  inpenetrable  under- 
growth of  thorns ;  the  stony  soil  was  alive  with  poisonous 
reptiles,  and  gashed  with  hideous  gullies.  Now  was 
experienced  also  the  first  water  famine.  To  make  head- 
way through  this  desolate  jungle  the  wagons  had  to  be 
lightened.  The  camp  officers  decided  to  throw  away  their 
supply  of  dried  beef,  which  had  mostly  spoiled,  and  to 
sacrifice  the  tents.  All  were  thrown  away  or  burned, 
those  belonging  to  the  officers  as  well,  only  the  hospital 
tent  being  retained. 

Fatigue  parties  went  ahead  to  cut  a  passage  through 
tangles  and  gorges.  The  heat  was  torrid.  Drivers  and 
fatigue-men  were  worn  out,  and  with  their  raging  thirst 

20 


306  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

became  ugly-tempered.  The  cattle  were  worse.  Some 
refused  to  work,  or  were  unable  to  ;  wagons  were  over- 
turned, and  blasphemy,  which  had  been  cultivated  as  an 
art  from  the  set-off,  developed  proportionately.  In  fine, 
the  command  was  uncontrollable,  and  scattered  in  all 
directions  at  will,  seeking  water  and  a  way  out  of  the 
hideous  timbers.  Kendall  observes  that  on  all  marches 
where  there  is  no  water  there  is  no  discipline.  Men  and 
animals  simply  go  wild. 

A  stifling  day  was  followed  by  a  hot  but  cloudy  night. 
The  sky  grew  black,  and  all  hoped  for  torrents,  but  only 
a  few  drops  fell  to  tantalize  the  suffering  band.  The 
storm  was  mainly  wind  and  thunder ;  and  the  thick  dark- 
ness prevented  a  night  journey  which  had  been  planned 
in  the  hope  of  cooler  atmosphere.  The  third  day  they 
worked  out  of  this  nightmare  of  a  wilderness  and  came  to 
a  stream  which  renewed  their  life. 

Before  this  the  lack  of  equipment  had  been  further 
emphasized  by  the  certainty  that  not  enough  beeves  had 
been  sent  along,  and  a  flying  squadron  had  to  be  sent 
back  for  more.  This  added  somewhat  to  the  delay. 
Now,  on  August  10,  they  began  to  grope  for  the  proper 
route,  and  were  deceived  by  a  Mexican  in  the  company 
who  said  he  had  trapped  in  that  quarter,  knew  the 
ground,  and  that  they  were  only  seventy  or  eighty  miles 
away  from  San  Miguel.  No  one,  strange  to  say,  knew 
any  better,  although  they  were  in  fact  more  than  five 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  307 

times  that  distance  from  the  town  named.  But  assuming 
that  the  Mexican  was  right,  McLeod  sent  a  deputation 
composed  of  Guide  Howland  and  two  assistants,  Baker 
and  Rosenberry,  ahead  to  San  Miguel  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  supplies  and  sounding  the  inhabitants  on  the 
proposal  of  the  proclamation. 

The  expedition  could  not  find  the  Red  River.  It  was 
lost  in  the  dry  grass.  Their  hunger  was  dreadful,  and 
their  thirst  was  maddening.  The  streams  they  found 
were  salt  and  brackish.  While  the  cattle  seemed  to 
like  the  water,  the  men  could  not  drink  it.  Indians  fol- 
lowed them,  cutting  off  and  killing  several  of  the  com- 
pany. To  search  for  water  was  a  risk  of  life ;  not  to  do 
so  seemed  certain  death.  Many  took  the  chance,  Mr. 
Kendall  being  one. 

Another  danger  beset  them  and  threatened  their  an- 
nihilation. As  Kendall  and  a  companion  were  drinking 
at  a  brackish  creek  in  a  desolate  valley  some  miles  from 
the  caravan,  they  were  startled  by  a  loud  report.  At 
first  they  supposed  the  command  had  been  attacked  by 
Indians  and  had  turned  the  cannon  on  them.  But  imme- 
diately they  saw  a  great  prairie  fire.  It  leaped  down  the 
sides  of  the  rugged  hills  through  the  stunted  cedars,  the 
tops  of  which  cracked  with  the  heat  like  the  rattle  of 
musketry.  By  taking  their  course  along  ground  already 
burnt  over,  they  met  comrades  who  told  them  that 
an  ammunition  wagon  had  been  caught  in  the  flames 


308  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

and  blown  up.  The  explosion  destroyed  much  personal 
property,  and  the  whole  caravan  looked  for  a  time  to  be 
doomed ;  but  heroic  efforts  saved  the  rest  of  it. 

They  were  now  much  worse  off  than  before,  yet  not 
destitute.  All  their  mess  and  culinary  utensils  were 
destroyed,  as  was  also  much  clothing.  Everybody  was 
suffering,  and  none  knew  which  way  to  turn.  All  move- 
ments were  experimental,  and  invariably  led  to  frightful 
gullies,  blackened  valleys,  and  impassable  chasms.  Bullets 
were  carried  in  the  mouth  to  allay  thirst.  Pieces  of  raw- 
hide similarly  used  were  found  more  effective,  as  also 
were  pods  of  mesquit  trees  when  chewed.  Coming  to  a 
mountain  barrier,  they  were  compelled  to  return  to  a 
stream  which  they  had  left  several  days  before.  Rations 
were  reduced  from  three  pounds  to  half  that  each  day. 
The  discovery  of  prairie-dog  villages  afforded  them  some 
fresh  meat,  although  the  animals  were  shy  and  hard  to 
kill  —  or  rather,  hard  to  secure,  as  they  would  usually 
tumble  down  their  burrows  when  shot.  Game  had  van- 
ished, and  the  men  were  all  but  mutinous. 

The  officers  now  held  a  council  and  determined  to  divide 
the  command.  Ninety-nine  mounted  men  in  command  of 
Captains  Sutton  and  Lewis  were  sent  forward  unencum- 
bered with  baggage,  except  rations  for  a  few  days,  with  a 
view  of  finding  New  Mexican  settlements.  These  were  be- 
lieved to  be  not  more  than  eighty  or  one  hundred  miles 
distant.  Kendall  went  with  this  advance  division,  as  did 


THE  GLORY  SEEKERS  309 

also  a  physician,  Brenham,  and  an  engineer,  Hunt.  It  set 
off  August  31. 

As  our  historian  went  with  the  advance  detachment, 
which  was  destined  to  find  earlier  excitement  than  the 
other,  we  prefer  to  leave  the  caravan  beside  the  brackish 
stream  in  the  barrens  and  follow  him.  The  ninety  and 
nine  set  out  through  that  forbidding  and  apparently 
limitless  stretch  of  desolation  called  the  Llano  Estacado, 
although  not  one  of  them  was  aware  they  were  entering 
that  forbidding  desert.  They  supposed  themselves  over 
in  New  Mexico  on  the  margin  of  civilization. 

After  travelling  two  or  three  days  they  came  to  a  tre- 
mendous gash  in  the  earth.  It  ran  through  a  compara- 
tively level  land,  and  was  not  seen  until  they  were  upon 
the  brink  of  it.  It  was  about  eight  hundred  feet  wide,  and 
nearly  a  thousand  feet  deep.  The  sides  were  almost  per- 
pendicular. Nothing  but  workable  flying-machines  could 
have  taken  them  over.  As  for  going  around  it,  one  might 
as  well  have  sought  to  go  around  Brazos  River,  —  at  least, 
so  it  seemed.  Yet  they  followed  it  along  southward,  and 
began  to  discern  converging  animal  trails  which  they 
rightly  guessed  led  to  a  crossing-place.  But  when  they 
arrived  at  the  descent  they  were  appalled  by  the  steep  and 
rough  path  that  led  down  into  the  mighty  gorge.  Some 
of  the  horses  refused  the  venture  at  first,  and  had  to  be 
fairly  pushed  onward.  It  was  a  dangerous  feat,  but  they 
reached  the  bottom  in  safety,  and  found  the  trail  up  the 


310  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

opposite  side.  Nearly  a  day  was  consumed  in  making  the 
crossing,  but  they  met  with  no  fatalities. 

Within  a  day  or  two  they  came  to  another  canon  of 
about  the  same  width  and  depth,  and  managed  to  cross  it 
in  the  same  manner.  After  this  the  cavalcade  found  it- 
self in  a  rocky,  barren  country,  exceedingly  hard  to  travel 
over,  and  destitute  of  game.  League  after  league  through 
the  dreary  waste  they  saw  no  living  creature.  Their 
meat  spoiled,  and  they  threw  much  of  it  away.  Soon  they 
were  without  food.  There  was  even  short  pickings  for 
their  animals.  For  several  days  the  men  starved.  It 
appeared  to  them  that  they  had  wandered  into  a  parched 
and  withered  world  to  perish. 

Finally,  in  a  desperate  hour  they  sighted  a  small  party  of 
Mexicans  who  were  returning  from  a  trading  trip  to  the 
Indians.  From  them  they  ascertained  that  they  were  only 
four  days'  travel  from  their  main  party,  although  they  had 
wandered  thirteen  days  since  separating  from  it.  They  had 
taken  wrong  courses,  and  should  have  avoided  the  canons. 
So  much  for  ignorance.  They  also  learned  that  they  were 
only  about  forty  miles  from  a  Mexican  sheep  ranch. 

Engaging  two  of  the  Mexican  traders,  they  sent  one  of 
their  own  party  with  them  back  to  the  caravan  to  guide 
it  through  the  mountain  pass.  They  also  sent  three  or 
four  of  their  number  whose  horses  were  the  least  jaded  to 
ride  in  advance  to  the  sheep  ranch  and  prepare  dressed 
meat  against  the  coming  of  the  others  the  following  day. 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  311 

When  they  all  got  there,  those  ninety-eight  famished  men 
found  seventeen  thousand  sheep  at  that  ranch,  and  started 
in  to  eat  them.  The  best  they  could  do  at  the  first  sit- 
ting was  to  consume  twenty.  Nothing  discouraged,  they 
buckled  to  it  again  the  next  morning,  having  a  divine 
adjunct  to  the  mutton  in  a  goafs  milk  and  flour  mush, 
called  atole  con  leche.  They  were  excellent  customers  of 
those  herdsmen  for  two  or  three  days.  The  shepherds 
were  a  primitive  lot,  with  crooks  like  those  in  the  Bible 
pictures.  They  would  have  been  pleased  if  the  Americans 
had  remained  with  them. 

But  the  travellers  learned  bad  news.  The  shepherds  said 
the  country  was  in  arms ;  that  the  invasion  of  the  Texan 
had  been  heralded  through  all  the  towns;  that  Guide 
Rowland  and  his  two  aids,  who  had  been  despatched  ahead 
by  General  McLeod,  were  prisoners  at  Santa  Fe.  But  then, 
all  Mexicans  were  called  consummate  liars,  and  nobody 
believed  a  word  of  it.  Certainly  they  were  not  frightened, 
for  Captain  Lewis  and  George  Van  Ness,  the  latter  the 
secretary  to  the  commissioners,  were  appointed  to  advance 
to  San  Miguel  to  confer  with  the  authorities.  Both  spoke 
Spanish  fluently.  They  were  to  announce  the  coming 
of  a  large  trading-party,  and  for  proof  of  it  they  carried 
copies  of  Lamar's  proclamation  inviting  the  people  to 
revolt  against  Mexico !  So  sure  were  they  of  a  generous 
welcome  that  three  others,  Kendall,  Howard,  and  Fitz- 
gerald, accompanied  the  two  delegates. 


312  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

Now  in  those  days  there  was  a  Governor  in  New  Mexico 
whose  name  was  Armijo.  He  was  a  selfish,  suspicious, 
cruel,  and  tyrannical  man,  feared  by  the  people  over  whom 
he  ruled  much  like  an  absolute  monarch.  When  Governor 
Armijo  heard  Texas  had  sent  an  expedition  against  the 
Territory,  he  issued  a  proclamation  declaring  it  was  coming 
for  conquest,  and  that  the  Texans  would  burn,  kill,  and  en- 
slave !  The  simple  people  believed  him,  —  they  had  heard 
terrible  things  about  the  Texans  since  San  Jacinto. 

Unfearful  of  all  this,  the  delegates'  party  of  five  pushed 
bravely  on.  At  the  village  of  Anton  Chico  they  fared 
sumptuously  on  a  menu  of  tortillas,  boiled  eggs,  and  miel, 
—  the  latter  a  syrup  made  from  common  cornstalks. 
They  lodged  there,  and  at  midnight  were  awakened  by  a 
vagabondish  fellow  who  told  them  they  were  to  be  taken 
prisoners  by  an  approaching  army  and  shot  the  next  day. 
He  charged  them  a  dollar  for  the  information,  which  they 
refused  to  pay,  not  considering  that  he  had  earned  the 
money.  The  Mexican  wondered,  no  doubt,  what  kind  of 
a  bill  of  horrors  they  would  expect  for  a  dollar's  worth. 

But  others  gave  them  warning  also,  and  a  spy  from  the 
advancing  army  kindly  gave  them  information  as  to  the 
road,  sending  them  a  most  dangerous  way.  Piratical  look- 
ing scouts  were  seen  along  the  cliffs,  yet  those  trusting  men 
were  unsuspicious  that  any  real  danger  was  near. 

Beyond  Gallinas  the  party  of  five  was  surrounded  by  a 
company  of  Mexicans  under  Colonel  Salazar,  a  "  miscreant " 


GEORGE  WILKINS  KENDALL 

Historian  of  the  Texas-Santa  F6  Expedition 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  313 

who  politely  informed  the  delegation  that  it  could  not 
expect  to  enter  the  Territory  armed;  that  he  had  been 
ordered  by  his  superiors  to  demand  their  weapons,  each 
piece  of  which  he  said  would  be  labelled  so  there  would  be 
no  trouble  in  identification  upon  their  being  returned. 
He  hoped  they  would  not  object,  as  it  was  a  disagreeable 
request  for  him  to  make  of  gentlemen,  at  the  best. 

None  of  the  party  liked  it  very  well,  but  their  explana- 
tions carried  no  conviction.  Mr.  Kendall  showed  his  pass- 
port proving  his  American  citizenship,  also  his  letter  from 
President  Lamar  declaring  he  was  travelling  as  a  guest  with 
the  expedition.  Neither  did  these  convince.  All  five  had 
to  give  up  their  arms ;  and  at  last  they  began  to  suspect 
that  they  were  not  going  to  fare  altogether  pleasantly. 
Mr.  Kendall  clearly  showed  impatience;  his  account  says 
that  he  detected  "  a  wicked  gleam  in  the  cowardly  man's 
eye "  when,  with  his  "  myrmidons "  around  him,  he  took 
such  a  mean  advantage  of  them. 

Then  Salazar  demanded  all  of  their  papers  and  valuables. 
He  was  such  a  "  miscreant "  that  he  showed  even  a  more 
gentle  delicacy  in  this  demand.  He  regretted  deeply  to 
incommode  them,  yet  such  were  his  orders.  It  really 
pained  him  to  execute  them.  "  It  was  hard  to  detect  the 
deep  treachery  and  atrocious  designs  lying  under  an  ap- 
pearance so  apparently  fair,"  sighs  Mr.  Kendall  in  bewail- 
ing such  moral  obliquity.  Everything  was  taken  except 
their  money,  and  that,  the  author  declares,  was  left  to 


314  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

them  only  because  the  robbers  overlooked  it ;  which  shows 
his  growing  prejudice.  Their  effects  were  tied  up  in  neat 
little  handkerchief  bundles  and  also  labelled. 

Now  came  the  order  that  pained  the  sensitive  Colonel 
Salazar  most  of  all.  He  really  could  not  apologize  suffi- 
ciently for  it,  —  such  disagreeable  transactions  between 
gentlemen  !  Would  they  please  line  up  —  not  too  close 
together?  They  obeyed,  —  nothing  so  very  objectionable 
about  that.  Then  the  colonel,  suddenly  losing  somewhat 
of  his  affability,  gave  an  order  to  a  captain,  who  brought 
up  a  file  of  soldiers  which  paraded  in  front  and  stood  at 
arms.  This  file  was  captained  by  "  an  abandoned  wretch  " 
with  the  title  and  cognomen  of  Don  Jesus,  which  shocked 
the  goodly  wayfarers  by  its  circumstantial  blasphemy.  But 
this  shock  was  at  once  relieved  by  another.  Would  the 
gentlemen  please  be  blindfolded? 

They  were  to  be  shot ! 

It  was  not  till  now  that  the  Americans  —  for  purposes 
of  the  narrative  the  terms  Americans  and  Texans  may 
be  used  synonymously  —  fairly  woke  up  to  their  danger. 
They  were  men  of  the  world,  of  varied  experience,  and 
more  than  one  of  them  was  acquainted  not  only  with 
the  Mexican  character,  but  with  the  character  of  the 
men  engaged  in  protecting  things  in  that  Territory. 
Yet  they,  and  all  the  leaders  of  the  expedition,  seem 
to  have  exhibited  a  simple-mindedness  almost  infantile. 
They  walked  into  the  web  in  instalments  as  artlessly  as 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  315 

any  fly  into  the  spider's  parlor.  Kendall  was  a  traveller 
and  a  successful  journalist;  Fitzgerald  had  seen  military 
service  in  Spain ;  Lewis  had  done  business  in  Chihuahua, 

—  and  here  they  stood  like  a  lot  of  dunces  before  a  polite 
request  to  be  blindfolded  for  execution. 

Fitzgerald  was  the  first  to  read  the  unpropitious  signs. 
It  was  a  moment  of  dramatic  intensity.  Captain  Lewis 
glanced  the  order  down  the  line,  and  Kendall  says  that, 
•without  a  spoken  word,  every  man  felt  and  understood. 
They  must  seize  the  muskets  from  the  file  of  executioners 

—  a  motley  lot  of  weaklings  —  and  strike  for  an  escape. 
But  now  arose  a   quarrel  between  Salazar  and  a  citizen 
who  proved  to  be  Don  Gregorio  Vigil,  a  man  of  wealth 
and   influence.     He   objected   to   having   men   shot  who 
came  with  letters  and  requests  to  see  the  Governor.     The 
Americans   supported    Don    Gregorio   with   warnings   to 
Salazar  of  the  consequences,  should  he  murder  them ;  and 
the  colonel  changed  his  mind. 

Being  thus  reprieved,  the  captives  were  marched  on 
foot  to  San  Miguel  in  charge  of  the  captain  of  blasphem- 
ous name.  Salazar  moved  on  for  more  prisoners.  On 
the  way  the  five  were  treated  kindly  at  villages  through 
which  they  passed.  The  inhabitants,  especially  the 
women,  showed  real  compassion  and  supplied  them  with 
bread  and  cheese.  The  newspaper  man  tells  it  himself 
that  now  he  had  to  throw  bread  away.  He  had  become 
so  hungry  for  it  that  at  the  first  village  he  bought 


316  THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

enough  for  a  month,  really  thinking  he  would  eat  it  all ; 
yet  he  was  going  into  a  country  where  he  could  get  it 
every  day.  He  fed  it  to  his  horse  before  that  good  friend 
was  taken  from  him.  But  the  quantity  they  ate,  or  the 
change  in  diet,  made  them  ill,  and  the  walk  of  fifteen 
miles  to  San  Miguel,  together  with  wading  cold  streams, 
made  the  party  wretched. 

At  San  Miguel  they  were  shut  up  in  a  sort  of  hole 
and  fed  on  tortillas,  which  they  did  not  relish.  A  kind 
priest  sent  them  generous  bowls  of  hot  coffee,  and  that 
helped.  All  clothing  except  what  they  wore  had  been 
taken,  and  the  chill  winds  made  them  long  for  blankets 
and  coats.  Besides,  they  had  to  sleep  on  the  hard 
earthen  floor,  and  suffered  intensely.  They  begged  of  the 
alcalde  for  covering.  He  heeded  not,  but  a  poor  woman 
who  overheard  brought  them  her  blanket  and  buffalo 
robe  —  all  she  had  —  out  of  pity.  Kendall  bought 
another  blanket  for  an  English  sovereign,  and  thus  they 
made  a  bed  for  five. 

Next  morning  they  bought  a  sheep  and  hired  it  cooked. 
The  priest  sent  coffee  again.  A  woman,  seeing  their 
illness,  brought  them  a  bottle  of  brandy ;  others,  cheese 
and  frijoles.  Yet  Kendall  observes:  "We  were  now  in 
the  power  of  men  who  possess  all  the  vices  of  savage  life 
without  one  of  the  virtues  that  civilization  teaches, — 
cruel,  relentless,  and  treacherous,  who  looked  upon  us  as 
heretics." 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  317 

Before  reaching  Santa  Fe  they  met  more  troops,  and 
had  to  submit  to  being  tied  by  the  wrists  with  a  lariat. 
Kendall  and  Howard,  being  ill  and  lame,  were  excepted, 
although  they  were  made  to  walk  with  hands  folded  on 
their  breasts  as  a  sign  of  submission.  Kendall  resents  it 
in  his  book  in  these  words:  "Never  shall  I  forget  that 
Don  Jesus  !  He  had  a  coarse,  dark,  hang-dog  face,  a 
black  but  vicious  eye,  a  head  which  I  am  phrenologist 
enough  to  know  was  as  destitute  of  the  organs  of  benev- 
olence and  the  better  attributes  of  our  nature  as  outer 
darkness  is  of  light ;  and  if  he  had  a  heart  at  all,  it  legiti- 
mately belonged  to  a  hyena ! " 

During  this  march  the  guard  entertained  them  with 
descriptions  of  how  they  would  be  executed  as  soon  as  the 
Governor  got  them.  They  met  about  one  thousand  troops 
that  day,  on  the  way  to  receive  the  Texans.  In  the  even- 
ing at  sunset  a  trumpet  blast  announced  the  approach 
of  the  mighty  Governor.  There  was  a  great  parade  of 
spearsmen  and  ragged  musketeers,  and  then,  in  a  breathless 
moment,  loomed  forth  his  dread  Excellency  on  a  sunburst 
mule.  For  an  instant  it  were  hard  to  say  which  splendor 
was  the  more  dazzling,  the  panoply  of  the  mule,  or  the 
auguSt  rider. 

General  Armijo  was  in  truth  an  impressive  personage, 
six  feet  high,  portly,  and  possessed  of  a  fine  military  car- 
riage. He  rode  straight  to  the  prisoners,  spoke  politely, 
shook  each  one  by  the  hand,  called  them  amigos,  and  asked 


318  THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 

who  they  were.  Lewis  made  the  cowardly  reply  that  they 
were  merchants  from  the  United  States.  Armijo  grasped 
him  by  the  collar  of  his  dragoon  jacket  and  said  sternly : 

"  What  does  this  mean  ?  Do  you  think  I  cannot  read  ? 
Texas ! " 

At  the  same  time  he  pointed  to  the  State  name  and  the 
lone  star  on  the  brass  buttons. 

"  You  need  not  think  you  can  deceive  me  !  "  continued 
Armijo,  fiercely.  "  I  can  read.  No  merchant  from  the 
United  States  travels  in  a  Texan  military  jacket !  " 

Then  Armijo  asked  about  the  main  body  of  the  caravan  ; 
how  many,  and  where  they  were.  Van  Ness,  secretary  to 
the  commissioners,  now  answered  truthfully,  and  asked 
exemption  for  Kendall.  Armijo  read  the  latter's  passport, 
pronounced  it  good,  but  said  he  was  in  the  company  of 
invading  enemies  of  New  Mexico  and  must  be  held  for 
further  information.  All  of  which  may  appear  much  more 
reasonable  to  us  than  it  did  to  Mr.  Kendall. 

Being  done  with  his  questionings,  the  Governor  inquired 
for  the  captive  who  was  most  fluent  in  Spanish,  —  he 
wanted  him  for  an  interpreter.  Lewis  now  pressed  for- 
ward again  in  an  eager  way,  and  as  he  was  the  best,  he 
was  chosen.  He  was  untied  and  given  a  mule  to  ride ;  and 
that  was  the  beginning  of  a  most  despicable  treachery,  for 
it  may  be  stated  now  that  Lewis  turned  traitor,  and  for 
his  own  advantage  aided  in  condemning  and  robbing  his 
comrades.  Kendall  says  (one  can  excuse  his  intemperate 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  319 

words  in  this  case,  at  least)  :  "  As  soon  as  he  saw  that  by 
betraying  his  former  associates,  those  who  often  had  be- 
friended him,  he  might  gain  life  and  liberty,  he  at  once 
surrendered  all  the  holy  ties  of  religion,  honor,  companion- 
ship, and  patriotism  ! " 

None  then  suspected  him,  either. 

Armijo  then  ordered  the  captives  back  to  San  Miguel 
that  night.  "  The  wretch,  Don  Jesus,"  showed  his  vil- 
lany  by  interceding  for  them,  saying  they  had  walked 
thirty  miles  that  day  and  would  hardly  be  able  to  .return. 
But  the  Governor  was  inexorable,  exclaiming  : 

"  The  Texans  are  an  active  people !  I  know  them ! 
If  one  of  them  pretends  to  be  sick  or  tired,  shoot  him 
and  bring  me  his  ears  !  Go ! " 

On  the  road  back  that  terrible  night,  Kendall  hired  half 
of  a  donkey,  the  owner  riding  the  other  and  hinder  half. 
At  midnight  a  rainstorm  and  darkness  the  shade  of  tar 
necessitated  a  halt,  and  they  slept  on  the  earth  in  the 
downpour  till  morning. 

When  they  finally  arrived  again  at  San  Miguel  the 
place  was  filled  with  troops.  There  were  several  old  pieces 
of  artillery  drawn  by  oxen.  The  four  captives  were  im- 
prisoned, when  there  came  to  them  a  priest  who  said  he 
was  to  give  absolution  to  the  one  who  was  to  be  shot. 
This  was  interesting ;  but  they  soon  learned  the  doomed 
man  was  Baker,  one  of  the  Rowland  deputation  of  three 
which  McLeod  first  despatched  ahead.  He  was  led  out  in 


320  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

the  little  square,  blinded,  placed  on  his  knees  facing  the 
wall,  and  shot  in  the  back  by  a  detail  of  six  soldiers.  The 
latter  were  raw  fellows,  excited  or  nervous,  and  fired  wildly. 
The  victim  writhed  upon  the  ground  till  a  corporal  walked 
up  with  a  pistol  for  the  mercy  shot,  which  he  delivered  so 
close  that  the  dying  man's  shirt  took  fire  and  burned  while 
he  expired. 

The  four  others  were  then  marched  out  in  a  line  near 
where  the  executed  man  lay.  Had  their  last  hour  come 
also?  They  did  not  know.  Left  standing  there,  they 
observed  themselves  before  an  open  window  in  the  upper 
story  of  an  adjoining  building.  At  this  window  ap- 
peared Armijo.  They  saw  him  talking  as  if  convers- 
ing with  some  one  near  him,  but  they  could  not  see 
the  person,  nor  could  they  hear.  Still  they  stood  in 
terrible  suspense,  and  at  last  the  Governor  came  out  and 
addressed  them  :  "  Gentlemen,  you  told  me  the  truth 
yesterday.  Your  companion,  Rowland,  corroborates 
you.  But  he  (Howland)  tried  to  escape,  was  recaptured, 
and  is  to  be  shot.  So  you  see  what  the  penalty  is  for 
trying  to  escape  ! " 

With  that  the  unfortunate  Howland  was  marched  out. 
He  had  a  wound  on  one  side  of  his  head  and  face  too 
frightful  for  description,  "yet  he  smiled  at  his  com- 
panions with  the  other  side."  He  was  shot  in  the  same 
manner  as  was  his  comrade. 

Armijo  said  these  things  were  the  necessities  of  a  war 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  321 

that  had  been  thrust  upon  him.  The  Texans  could  not 
plead  entire  innocence,  for  they  had,  in  the  candor  of  later 
judgment,  undertaken  a  rash,  unjust  invasion.  Yet  it 
seems  strange  that  at  a  day  so  recent  as  to  be  remembered 
by  men  still  living,  such  sickening  barbarism  was  practised 
under  the  name  of  "warfare"  by  civilized,  Christian 
people ! 

Armijo  was  a  mixture  of  Robespierre  and  Sitting  Bull. 
The  ragged  and  half-armed  rabble  around  him  was  called 
"  the  rural  militia."  It  had  captured  Rowland  after  des- 
perately wounding  him.  Rosenberry  was  killed.  It  was 
now  sent  after  the  ninety-four  remaining  of  the  advance 
corps,  which  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Cooke,  near 
Anton  Chico.  The  Governor  did  not  go  forward  with  his 
army,  but  made  ready  to  fly  to  Mexico  with  his  valuables 
if  it  should  be  beaten. 

Mr.  Kendall  and  the  Texans  reiterate  that  Armijo  was 
a  blood-stained  coward  ;  that  his  people  secretly  hated 
him,  and  were  held  loyal  only  by  fear;  that  they  longed 
for  annexation  with  Texas,  arid  that  ignorance  and  timid- 
ity only  prevented  them  from  throwing  off  the  Mexican 
"  yoke."  This  is  doubtful ;  and  besides,  it  cannot  in  all 
fairness  be  said  that  the  conduct  of  the  Texans  offered 
them  any  encouragement. 

The  advance  division  was  surrounded  by  nearly  a 
thousand  troops.  Salazar  sent  word  to  Cooke  that  if  he 
and  his  men  would  give  up  their  arms,  the  Governor  would 

21 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

make  amicable  arrangements  with  them.  Asked  about 
the  delegation,  he  answered  that  it  had  been  courteously 
received,  and  Senor  Kendall  allowed  to  proceed  on  his 
journey.  Then  Lewis,  the  renegade,  came  and  said  a 
force  of  four  thousand  troops  were  ready  to  fight.  He 
was  suspected,  but  pledged  his  masonic  faith  and  his 
honor.  So  Cooke  capitulated. 

On  went  the  Mexicans  and  met  the  caravan,  or  main 
body  of  the  invaders.  That  division  was  induced  to  sur- 
render all  arms  under  similar  representations.  And  now 
the  whole  warlike  expedition  of  Texans,  with  the  prowess 
of  being  terrible  fighters,  had  been  neatly  taken  in  with- 
out their  having  fired  a  shot. 

In  the  meantime  the  four  "  delegates "  remained  in 
prison.  Guards  kept  cheering  them  with  assurances  that 
they  would  all  be  shot  if  the  whole  expedition  did  not 
surrender ;  and  as  they  felt  certain  their  three  hundred 
and  more  comrades  would  fight  to  the  last  arroyo  it  kept 
them  thinking  even  more  than  they  otherwise  would  have 
of  the  scene  in  the  square.  But  finally  there  was  a  great 
rejoicing  of  the  populace  —  loud  "  vivas"  of  "Long  live 
the  Mexican  republic !  "  "  Long  live  brave  Armijo  !  " 
"  Death  to  the  Texans  !  "  together  with  bell-ringing,  gun- 
firing,  and  trumpet-blasting.  Besides  which,  Te  Deum 
was  sung  in  the  church,  and  a  grotesque  puppet,  an  effigy 
of  San  Miguel,  patron  saint  of  the  town,  was  paraded  in 
feathered  finery,  "amidst  hellish  orgies  and  cabalistic 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  323 

sounds,""  as  Mr.  Kendall  unappreciatively  declared.  But 
did  it  show  that  the  people  were  at  heart  anxious  for 
Texan  sovereignty  ? 

With  the  exception  of  chinches,  the  vermin  pest  of  all 
Mexican  prisons,  the  four  were  not  uncomfortable.  The 
people  were  kind,  especially  the  women.  Girls  brought 
them  chile  guisado,  atole,  miel,  eggs,  tortillas,  and  frijoles, 
which  they  were  bound  to  eat  or  wound  the  donors'1  feelings, 
which  was  out  of  the  question.  It  was  an  odd  kink  of 
fate  that,  whereas  a  short  time  before  they  had  nearly  died 
by  starving,  they  now  had  to  eat  about  a  dozen*  meals  a 
day,  and  suffered  about  as  much  from  overgorging. 

And  now  occurred  the  theatrical  climax  of  the  capture. 
The  Texans  arrived,  caravan  and  men.  All  were  worn 
and  haggard.  Would  they  be  liberated  ?  Some  were  so 
foolish  as  to  suppose  they  would  be.  But  only  a  gunsmith, 
a  blacksmith,  a  musician,  and  the  hospital  steward  were 
set  free,  and  those  only  because  the  Governor  wanted  their 
services.  The  loads  of  merchandise  were  unpacked  under 
the  supervision  of  Armijo  himself,  with  Lewis  at  his  elbow. 
As  the  bales  were  opened  the  contents  were  divided  among 
the  warriors.  The  most  valuable  Lewis  claimed,  and  those 
were  set  aside  to  be  divided  between  him  and  Armijo. 
This  was  one  of  the  rewards  for  his  treachery.  The  other 
Texans  never  got  a  whistle. 

This  done,  Armijo  held  a  council  of  war,  in  the  hearing 
of  the  prisoners,  as  to  what  disposition  should  be  made  of 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

them.  Some  argued  loudly  for  the  execution  of  the  whole 
captive  force.  Others  advised  that  they  be  sent  to  Mexico 
City  as  a  trophy  of  New  Mexican  arms.  The  Americans 
took  notice,  —  those  who  understood  Spanish.  It  was  an 
interesting  debate  for  other  reasons  than  the  oratory.  At 
length  the  officers  agreed  to  decide  the  question  by  a  vote 
—  viva  voce.  The  roll  was  called  —  it  ran  so  close  that 
the  Texans  began  to  count  time  by  heart-throbs.  And 
when  the  result  was  announced  they  were  saved  by  a  ma- 
jority of  one ! —  saved  to  be  sent  captives  on  a  journey  of 
two  thousand  miles  on  foot ! 

Was  this  a  barbaric  theatrical  trick  merely  to  frighten 
the  trembling  prisoners  ?    Quien  sabe  ?    They  never  knew. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


Captive  Train  Started  for  Mexico  City  —  Terrors  of  the  Journey  — 
Strange  Scenes  and  Experiences  —  Pestilence  and  Chains  —  Liberty 
at  Last. 

N  spite  of  all  disas- 
ters Kendall  took 
daily  notes.  At  first 
he  was  puzzled  by 
the  observation  that 
the  women  nearly 
all  had  what  he  sup- 
posed was  a  birth- 
mark—  a  deep  red 
spot  on  the  face ; 
but  he  found  it  was 
put  on  with  fruit- 
juice  or  vermilion, 
—  in  fine,  a  fashion. 
This  he  deplored; 
but  he  approved  of  the  dress  of  the  females — the  loose 
chemise  and  skirt,  with  seldom  a  gown  ;  sermonized  on  the 
beauty  of  the  natural  figure  which  it  encouraged,  to  the 
rebuke  "  of  corsets  and  other  twisting  and  contorting 
devices." 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

But  this  is  aside  from  the  tale  of  the  Texans,  who 
now  were  in  a  most  helpless  and  sorry  plight.  The  whole 
hard-luck  prison  gang  was  now  started  "  down  the  road  " 
for  old  Mexico.  Cookers  advance  division  was  put  under 
way  several  weeks  ahead  of  the  others.  Everybody  was 
robbed.  Not  a  man  started  on  that  terrible  journey  with 
more  than  a  blanket,  the  clothes  (mostly  ragged)  which 
he  wore,  and  the  money  and  jewelry  he  had  managed  to 
secrete  about  him.  No  one  was  allowed  to  ride. 

Kendall  complained  bitterly  at  the  fact  that  he  was 
treated  the  same  as  the  others,  no  recognition  being  taken 
of  his  American  citizenship.  There  were,  in  fact,  six  others 
who  claimed  to  be  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Many 
others  claimed,  later  on,  the  protection  of  other  govern- 
ments —  French,  British,  German.  It  was  indeed  a  varie- 
gated organization.  It  contained  physicians,  engineers, 
soldiers,  lawyers,  mechanics  of  many  trades,  merchants, 
clerks,  loafers,  adventurers,  horse-jockeys,  and  two  or 
three  comedy  actors.  They  suffered  hardships  such  as 
have  not  fallen  to  the  lot  of  many  men  in  modern  days, 
because  of  their  failure,  for  which  few  of  them  were 
responsible.  They  had  been  divided  up  accommodatingly 
for  Armijo,  whom  the  Texans  underrated,  to  take  in 
small  lots,  and  now  they  could  do  nothing  but  bear  their 
punishment. 

How  Kendall  hated  Armijo  and  Salazar!  As  a  part- 
ing shot  to  the  former  he  gives  a  brief  biography  of 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  327 

him,  beginning :  "  He  was  born  of  low  and  disreputable 
parents,  and  from  his  earliest  childhood  his  habits  were 
bad.  He  commenced  his  career  by  petty  pilfering, 
which  grew  as  he  advanced  in  years  to  grand  larcenies. 
While  yet  a  youth  he  carried  on  a  business  in  sheep- 
stealing,"  etc.  All  of  which,  and  more  that  followed,  was 
substantially  true,  and  not  spun  out  of  the  biographer's 
venom. 

Salazar  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  captives  to  El  Paso. 
Armijo  sent  with  the  train  two  or  three  dozen  beef-cattle 
for  subsistence,  but  the  colonel  slaughtered  only  two  of 
them,  keeping  the  others  to  sell  for  his  own  account,  but 
of  which  profits  he  failed  to  realize,  as  will  be  seen.  Ken- 
dall states  that  he  fed  parties  of  the  captives  at  times  as  a 
keeper  feeds  wolves,  tossing  tortillas  in  the  air,  and  laugh- 
ing heartily  at  the  scramble  for  them  by  the  famished 
men.  Long  starvation  had  robbed  them  of  forbearance 
and  human  decency,  and  they  would  struggle  roughly  for 
the  morsels. 

All  soon  suffered  severely  with  sore  and  swollen  feet, 
which  resulted  from  being  frost-bitten  at  night,  as  well  as 
treading  the  stony  roads  by  day.  Mr.  Kendall  had  to 
discard  his  shoes,  and  went  limping  in  his  stockings. 

Salazar  told  them  his  orders  were  to  tie  them  all  every 
night,  but  that  his  humanity  forbade !  However,  if  any 
were  missing  in  the  morning,  all  the  others  would  forth- 
with be  shot,  —  his  own  special  brand  of  humanity. 


THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

There  was  a  guard  of  two  hundred  poorly  armed  rural 
militia.  They  rode  on  either  side  of  the  long  file,  and 
might  have  been  overpowered  ;  but  their  arms  were  so 
useless  that  the  prisoners  knew  they  would  stand  no  chance 
of  fighting  their  way  out  of  the  country  with  them. 

The  terrors  of  this  march  through  New  Mexico  un- 
steadies  the  pen.  It  was  Salazar^s  policy  to  so  weary  the 
captives  out  during  the  day  that  they  would  have  no  life 
for  escape  at  night.  Some  days  an  ear  of  corn  was  a 
ration.  Once  when  complaint  of  extreme  hunger  was 
made  to  Salazar  he  pointed  to  where  his  horses  were 
feeding  and  said,  "  The  grazing  is  excellent."  At  other 
times  each  man  got  a  pint  of  flour  with  which  he  made  a 
dough  and  ate  it,  having  no  facilities  for  baking.  A  man 
died  of  exposure.  The  colonel  had  the  ears  cut  off  and 
preserved,  as  proof  that  he  had  not  escaped.  The  corpse 
was  thrown  aside. 

Salazar  would  beat  the  sick  and  laggard,  threatening 
to  shoot  them  rather  than  be  delayed.  One  McAllister, 
who  broke  down,  he  did  shoot  —  and  preserved  his  ears. 
Before  finishing  the  journey  he  shot  another.  A  third 
was  shot  at  his  order  by  a  trooper.  Still  another  was 
killed  by  being  brained  with  a  musket.  At  times  the 
guards  would  give  the  lame  ones  "  lifts  "  on  their  mules 
for  a  consideration.  For  these  helps  the  captives  gave 
part  of  their  clothing.  Sometimes  they  paid  in  brass 
buttons,  which  the  rurales  esteemed  highly. 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

When  they  came  to  that  great  westward  bend  in  the 
Rio  Grande  —  the  valley  of  which  they  had  followed  — 
the  road  makes  a  cut-off  across  an  arid  plain  for  ninety 
miles,  which  was  called  Dead  Man's  Journey.  There  was 
no  water  on  the  stretch,  and  Salazar  announced  that  the 
train  was  to  make  the  distance  without  stop  for  food  or 
sleep !  Every  man  was  cautioned  to  fill  his  canteen  with 
water.  They  tramped  all  day  without  a  halt !  At  night 
a  freezing  wind  sprang  up.  They  met  a  regiment  of 
Mexican  regulars  on  the  way  north  to  help  repel  the 
Texans.  Still  they  kept  on  foot  —  it  was  now  so  cold 
they  would  have  frozen  had  they  slept.  Some  sank  down 
in  a  stupor,  begging  to  be  left  to  die !  The  stronger 
found  self-help  in  rousing  and  urging  them  on. 

At  daylight  there  was  a  halt  of  an  hour  for  counting 
and  bringing  up  stragglers.  Then  onward  all  day.  On 
the  evening  of  this  second  day  the  animals  gave  out,  which 
forced  a  rest  till  ten  o'clock.  When  the  journey  was 
resumed  all  the  prisoners  were  so  stiff  and  numb  they  were 
worse  off  than  before.  At  the  morning  halt  Salazar's 
humanity  got  the  upper  hand  of  him  again,  and  he  had 
an  ox  killed  for  their  breakfast.  After  this  banquet  they 
slept  in  the  sunshine  till  the  afternoon. 

After  marches  some  of  the  sufferers  would  sink  down 
and  go  to  sleep  supperless,  too  exhausted  to  mix  a 
porridge.  Yet  as  the  captive  train  trudged  along  they 
would  chat  with  the  guards,  and  most  of  them  improved 


330  THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

much  on  the  journey  in  their  Spanish.  Mr.  Kendall 
remarks,  however,  that  profanity  was  always  the  first 
exchange  in  the  languages. 

At  El  Paso  the  command  of  Salazar  ended.  The 
captives  were  turned  over  to  another  guard  under  General 
Gonzalez.  They  were  now  in  Mexico  proper,  and  at 
once  were  shown  humane  treatment.  There  were  at  the 
start  one  hundred  and  eighty-one.  Five  had  been  killed  ; 
two  had  died.  Now  the  train  was  formed  in  parties  of  six 
or  eight  and  billeted  around  in  the  houses,  where  all  were 
well  provisioned.  Kendall  and  the  officers  stayed  with 
General  Gonzalez,  and  were  banqueted. 

While  they  were  all  sipping  wine  together  on  an 
afternoon,  Salazar  came  to  make  his  accounting  to  the 
comandante.  He  was  astounded  at  seeing  the  Texans  so 
entertained.  He  told  Gonzalez  he  had  been  ordered  to 
deliver  so  many  men,  and  all  were  there  but  five,  who 
unfortunately  had  died  on  the  way.  Gonzalez,  who  had 
been  informed  of  the  ruffian's  brutality,  accused  him 
sharply  of  having  murdered  them.  Salazar  denied  it  — 
declared  he  was  a  brave  man.  General  Gonzalez  retorted 
that  his  bravery  had  nothing  to  do  with  it ;  that  he  was 
a  murderer  and  a  thief.  Where  were  the  cattle  that  had 
been  sent  in  his  care  for  the  subsistence  of  his  prisoners  ? 
He  must  consider  himself  under  arrest  till  he  produced 
them,  and  no  more  words  about  it! 

Gonzalez  gave  the  weary  ones  three  days'  rest   before 


THE  GLORY  SEEKERS  331 

starting  with  them  for  the  south.  The  poor  wretches  got 
rid  of  some  of  their  rags  and  vermin,  the  kindly  Mexicans 
assisting  them  —  those  who  were  unable  to  buy  —  to  fresh 
clothes.  A  noble  priest  named  Ortiz  showed  marked  phi- 
lanthropy and  kindness.  He  had  baked  several  hundred 
loaves  of  bread  for  the  captives,  and  when,  they  resumed 
their  journey,  sent  it  forward  in  his  own  wagons  and  by 
his  own  servants.  He  also  gave  Mr.  Kendall  a  horse  to 
ride  to  Chihuahua,  three  hundred  miles.  The  journalist 
bears  witness  of  the  uniform  kindness  of  the  people 
throughout  the  long  journey,  evidenced  not  only  in  dona- 
tions of  food,  money,  and  clothing,  but  in  expressions  of 
genuine  sympathy.  It  is,  indeed,  doubtful  whether  at 
any  time  a  force  of  foreign  adventurers  entering  the 
United  States  bent  on  similar  objects  would  have  re- 
ceived the  kindness  and  sympathy  from  our  people  as 
that  band  of  Americans  and  Texans  did  from  the  people 
of  Mexico. 

General  Gonzalez  sent  his  carriage  for  the  use  of  the 
principal  officer-prisoners.  Citizens  provided  mules  for 
the  men.  The  whole  populace  turned  out  to  see  them  off. 
Taking  advantage  of  such  a  numerous  convoy,  many  of  the 
business  people  sent  their  crops  of  fruits  and  wines  to  the 
Chihuahua  market.  Thus  the  prison  train  took  on  some- 
what the  appearance  of  a  triumphal  procession.  Yet  the 
Texans  were  grotesque  and  even  brigandish  in  their  strange 
and  motley  apparel,  long  hair,  and  unshaven  faces.  They 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS 

could  now  laugh  at  each  other.  The  serio-comic  stage  of 
the  performance  had  been  reached. 

The  journalist  noted  that  a  half-breed  Delaware  Indian 
accompanied  by  a  little  fice  of  a  petty  Mexican  officer 
visited  their  camp.  The  Delaware  stated  that  he  was  a 
native  of  Indiana,  where  he  had  been  educated  ;  and  that 
his  reputation  for  man-killing  had  secured  him  an  offer  from 
Mexican  officials  to  come  to  their  country  and  exterminate 
Apaches  at  five  dollars  a  scalp,  in  which  industry  he  was 
then  engaged.  His  stories  indicated  enormous  carnage  at 
his  hands,  but  as  his  appearance  was  not  that  of  corres- 
ponding wealth,  they  suspected  him. 

Upon  their  entrance  in  Chihuahua  the  tops  of  churches, 
convents,  and  other  large  buildings  were  crowded  with 
people  eager  to  see  the  vanquished  Texans.  The  military 
of  the  city  was  drawn  up  along  the  roadway,  and  there 
was  great  blowing  of  trumpets  and  beating  of  drums.  It 
was,  in  fact,  much  like  a  mediaeval  triumph  with  exhibit  of 
captives.  But  they  were  well  treated,  the  men  receiving 
many  presents  of  food  and  clothing. 

Here  Mr.  Kendall  obtained  some  money  from  an 
American  merchant  upon  drafts,  which,  it  is  curious  to 
learn,  reached  New  Orleans  the  same  day  he  did,  more 
than  a  year  afterward,  having  been  forwarded  there  by 
way  of  Santa  Fe,  the  great  prairie  trail  to  St.  Louis,  and 
thence  by  river,  a  distance  of  nearly  four  thousand  miles. 

Down  through  Mexico  the  experiences  of  the  prisoners 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  333 

varied  greatly.  Their  guard  was  changed  at  every  State 
line,  and  their  treatment  depended  on  the  disposition  of 
the  commandants.  One  or  two  of  those  were  harsh,  but 
as  a  rule  they  were  lenient  and  even  generous.  At  times 
they  had  to  camp  in  the  open  and  sleep  on  the  ground  in 
the  chill  mountain  air,  with  scant  rations.  The  next 
night  they  would  be  entertained  by  the  citizens  of  some 
large  town,  banqueted,  and  amused  with  fandangoes  and 
cock-fights.  Usually  they  were  locked  in  some  sort  of 
enclosure  at  night. 

At  Zacatecas  a  subscription  for  their  benefit  was  taken 
up  among  the  foreign  residents,  and  over  a  thousand 
dollars  raised.  A  similar  subscription  was  raised  at 
Guanajuato.  At  San  Luis  Potosi  they  encountered  the 
American  circus  which  had  come  overland  from  the 
States  two  years  before,  and  which  had  continued  to  play 
to  good  business.  But  at  this  city  an  enemy  more  fearful 
even  than  Armijo  or  his  "  myrmidons  "  attacked  them.  It 
was  smallpox.  Six  or  eight  were  taken  with  it,  and  in  the 
end  the  scourge  ran  through  the  whole  train.  At  Guana- 
juato eighteen  were  taken  to  a  hospital.  Five  died.  All 
now  were  in  dread  and  dispirited,  sustained  only  by  the 
hope  of  immediate  release  upon  their  arrival  at  Mexico 
City.  Yet  Editor  Kendall  continued  to  take  copious  notes 
of  the  country,  the  people,  and  the  customs.  Among  the 
things  that  impressed  him  was  the  great  numbers  of 
robbers  everywhere.  These  banditti  were,  he  asserts,  so 


THE  GLORY  SEEKERS 

skilful  in  their  business  that  Robert  Macaire  would  have 
starved  to  death  in  competition  with  them.  It  was 
hinted,  too,  that  bands  of  them  held  close  relations  with 
certain  prominent  citizens  in  honorable  pursuits. 

At  Queretaro,  one  of  the  Texans  sent  a  friendly  corporal 
with  a  dollar  to  get  change,  and  the  fellow  returned  with 
sixty-four  cakes  of  soap.  Upon  remonstrance,  the  Texan 
was  told  that  that  was  the  regular  thing,  the  soap  being 
legal  tender  as  subsidiary  currency.  And  so  it  was. 
Stamped  with  the  name  of  the  town  and  of  the  person 
authorized  to  manufacture  it,  the  stuff  was  a  lawful 
medium  of  exchange  locally.  Other  towns  were  found 
to  have  soap  money  also,  —  and  has  not  "soap"  often 
been  used  to  designate  certain  financial  transactions  in 
the  United  States? 

On  arriving  at  Mexico,  the  party  was  split  up  and  dis- 
tributed among  different  prisons  and  hospitals,  as  had  the 
first  division  which  reached  the  capital  three  weeks  before. 
Some  were  sent  to  Puebla,  others  to  the  old  convent  prison 
of  Santiago.  At  both  places  they  were  chained  in  gangs 
and  put  to  work  on  the  streets.  Mr.  Kendall  was  now  ill 
with  smallpox,  and  with  a  number  of  his  friends  was  sent 
to  the  dread  prison-hospital  of  San  Lazaro.  This  was 
nothing  less  than  a  prison  for  lepers,  many  of  whom  were 
confined  in  it  for  life.  The  Americans  were  detained  here 
some  time  after  their  recovery.  It  was  ineffably  dismal 
and  repulsive.  Many  of  the  inmates  were  horribly 


THE   GLORY  SEEKERS  335 

disfigured  by  the  fatal  disease,  yet  Mr.  Kendall  says  there 
was  a  degree  of  cheerfulness  among  them  that  seemed 
almost  uncanny.  They  played  at  checkers  and  gambled 
at  monte ;  sang,  strummed  harps  and  mandolins,  and  even 
formed  dances  in  which  the  unfortunates  in  all  stages  of 
affliction,  even  those  on  crutches,  engaged.  Yet  San 
Lazaro  never  gave  up  its  victims  except  at  death. 

A  weird  story  of  a  death  within  its  heavily  grated  walls 
is  given.  It  occurred  in  the  evening.  Some  of  the 
Texans  playing  at  cards  were  requested  not  to  talk  so 
loud,  as  a  priest  was  administering  absolution  to  a  dying 
lazarino  close  by.  They  were  but  a  few  yards  distant, 
separated  by  an  iron  grating.  Yet,  during  the  solemn  rite 
a  buzzing  of  voices  continued  throughout  the  great,  half- 
lighted  prison.  Few  seemed  to  notice  the  voice  of  the 
priest,  or  to  care.  But  this  was  not  the  most  dolorous 
part.  At  midnight  the  Texans  were  awakened  by  a  dis- 
mal chanting,  and  beheld  a  strange  procession  bearing 
torches  and  winding  through  the  black  recesses  of  the 
prison.  It  was  the  funeral  of  the  dead  lazarino.  The 
discordant  wails  and  chants,  the  flickering  of  the  torches, 
the  pall  and  the  emblems,  made  a  scene  the  most  dismal, 
mystical,  and  depressing  imaginable.  The  prison  in  itself 
was  described  as  one  of  the  vilest,  most  hideous,  and  mind- 
wrecking  places  in  the  world. 

There  was  great  agitation  in  the  United  States  for  the 
release  of  the  seven  Americans,  on  the  seven  claiming  the 


336 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS 


protection  of  the  United  States.  But  Santa  Anna,  then 
provisional  president,  was  slow  to  act.  After  much  diplo- 
matic correspondence  and  continued  efforts  of  our  minis- 
ter to  Mexico,  they  were  all  liberated.  The  Texans  were 
detained  several  months  longer,  but  all  finally  were  set 
free,  the  amnesty  being  granted  by  Santa  Anna  as  an  act 
of  benevolence  on  the  celebration  of  his  birthday. 

The  editor-historian  never  forgave  the  harsh  treatment 
he  had  received  in  his  unfortunate  predicament.  A  few 
years  later  he  went  with  another  expedition  of  conquest 
to  Mexico,  which  was  different.  He  accompanied  Taylor 
through  the  campaign  of  the  North,  and  Scott  from  Vera 
Cruz  to  the  capital.  Afterward  he  published  a  set  of 
colored  illustrations  showing  how  his  former  oppressors 
were  beaten  and  humbled  in  the  many  engagements  of 
the  war. 


The  expedition  of  the  Texans  was  not  the  last  attempt 
to  invade  Spanish  or  Mexican  territory.  Under  the  old 
regime,  when  the  juggernaut  of  slavery  seemed  to  be  de- 
manding a  right  of  way  through  the  universe,  the  designs 
of  conquest  and  annexation  became  a  part  of  the  grand 
scheme  to  separate  the  Southern  States  from  the  Union, 
and  to  erect  a  republic  whose  borders  were  to  be  circum- 
scribed only  by  the  salted  seas.  The  war  with  Mexico, 
and  the  vast  expansion  of  the  Union  which  followed,  was  an 
encouragement  of  this  design.  The  Southern  movement 


THE   GLORY   SEEKERS  337 

of  1861  was  alike  ominous  to  the  Union  and  to  the 
future  integrity  of  Mexico ;  but  the  crushing  of  the  Re- 
bellion blasted  the  last  hope  of  a  great  independent 
Sovereignty.  The  buccaneer  was  succeeded  by  the  cow- 
boy, and  the  rumble  of  predatory  warfare  by  the  orches- 
tration of  sickles  in  the  golden  fields. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


ADAIR,  General,  100 

Adams,  President  John,  94 

Adams,  John,  with  Nolan  Expedi- 
tion, 123 

Adams-De  Onis  Treaty,  247,  249 

Alston,  Captain  Solomon,  167, 
171 

Arbuthnot,  —  ,  hanged  by  Jack- 
son, 289 

Armbrister,  —  ,  hanged  by  Jack- 
son, 289 

Armijo,  Governor,  312,  317-323, 
326,  327 

Armstrong,  General,  in  Second 
Seminole  War,  293 

Arnold,  Benedict,  19 

Arredondo,  General,  225-227, 
229,  233 

Aury,  Luis  de,  233-237 

BAKER,  — ,  with  Texan-Santa  Fe 
Expedition,  307,  311,  319,  320 

Baldonada,  Senora  Maria,  in  con- 
nection with  Ellis  Bean's  Story, 
138-141 

Barclay,  John,  of  Philadelphia, 
91 

Barr,  — ,  with  Magee  Expedition, 
203 

Bastrop,  Baron,  92 

Baton  Rouge,  Government  of, 
164-191 

Bean,  Ellis,  128-160 

Bernadotte,  163,  164,  228 

Bigelow,  Horatio,  253 


Bird,  Captain,  53 
Blennerhasset,   Burr's   associate, 

94,  115,  116 

Blount,  Fort,  see  Nichols,  Fort 
Blount,   William,  of  Tennessee, 

31,  63,  66-69,  74,  174 
Blount,  —  ,   brother   of   William 

Blount,  of  Tennessee,  67,  68 
Bolivar,  on  Galveston  Bay,  264- 

269 

Bollman,  Doctor  Eric,  100 
Bomer,  — ,  in  Kemper  raid,  166, 

171 

Bonaparte,  Joseph,  162 
Bourbon,  County  of,  Georgia,  72 
Bowie,  James,  236,  252-254,  265 
Bowles,  William  Augustus,  78-82 
Brenham,    R.    F.,   with    Texan- 
Santa  Fe  Expedition,  300,  309 
Brown,  John,  35,  44 
Bruin,  Judge,  119,  120 
Bullard,  Captain,  227 
Bullitt,  Col.  A.  L.,35 
Burling,  Captain,  104 
Burr,  Aaron,  17,  19,  90-102,  104, 

105,  107,  108-116,  122,  201,  228 
Butler,  —  ,  in  Kemper  raid,  166, 

170 

CALDWELL,  Captain,  with  Texan- 
Santa  Fe  Expedition,  300 

Call,  General,  in  Second  Semi- 
nole War,  293 

Calleja,  Mexican  rebel,  208 

Caller,  Colonel  Joseph,  174 


INDEX 


Calvert,  Lieutenant,  242,  243,  261 

Caraden  County  troops  under  the 
Hammonds,  56 

Carondelet,  Governor,  of  Louis- 
iana, 61-63,  77,  121 

Carr,  Colonel,  53 

Chisholm,  — ,  agent  of  William 
Blount,  66,  67 

Circus,  American,  in  Mexico,  303 

Claiborne,  Governor  William 
C.  C.,  of  Louisiana,  88,  89,  96- 
99,  108-115,  159,  183,  243 

Clark,  Daniel,  of  New  Orleans, 
30,  35,  38,  46,  91,  101,  105,  106 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  42,  43,  52, 
53,  55,  174 

Clarke,  Colonel  Elijah,  51,  56, 
174 

Clinch,  Colonel,  285 

Clinton,  Governor,  of  New  York, 
Daughter  of,  59 

Cochrane,  Lord,  in  command  of 
British  fleet,  280 

Collins,  — ,  slave  agent,  295 

Cooke,  Major,  with  Long  in 
Texas,  254,  256,  263 

Cooke,  William  G.,  with  Texan- 
Santa  Fe  Expedition,  300,  321, 
322,  326 

Cordero,  ex-Governor,  208,  220, 
248 

Cordova,  Treaty  of,  267 

Coxe,  Zachariah,  74 

Creek  Indians,  275-297 

D'ARGES,  — ,  32,  37 

Davenport,  Colonel  Samuel,  with 

Magee    expedition,    203,    205, 

207,  252-254 
Dayton,  Jonathan,  of  New  Jersey, 

92 
Delaware  Indian,  Incident  of  the, 

332 


Delgado,  Captain,  221,  222 
Delpeau,  — ,    associate    of    La 

Chaise,  52,  55 
**  Democratic  clubs,"  52 
De  Neva,  Don  Pedro,  119,  122, 

128 
Don  Jesus,  Mexican  bandit,  314, 

317,  319 

Dorchester,  Lord,  45 
Dow,  Lorenzo,  itinerant  preacher, 

87,88 
Drake,   Admiral,   of  the  British 

navy,  98,  99 
Dunmore,  Lord,  Governor  of  the 

Bahamas,  78,  79 
Dunn,   Major  Isaac,  33,  34,  46, 

120 

ELISONDO,  General,  224,  225 
Ellicott,  Colonel  Andrew,  77,  79, 

81 

Enterprise,  U.  S.  brig,  259 
Exiles,  The  Florida,  273-297 

FAUCHET,  — ,  successor  to  Genet, 

59 
"Ferocious,    The,"    of   Lafitte's 

band,  258,  259 
Fitzgerald,  — ,  with  Texan-Santa 

Fe  Expedition,  311,  315 
Flowers,  — ,  in  Kemper  raid,  166, 

170 

Folch,  Spanish  Governor,  175-177 
Foote,  — ,  historian,  172, 173, 228, 

243 
Forsyth,  Doctor,  of  Mississippi, 

205 
Fort  St  Mark,  Florida,  289 

"  GACHUPINS,"  218,  224,  226 
Gaines,  General  Edmund  P.,  283, 

285,  295,  296 
Gaines,     Captain    Joseph,    with 


INDEX 


343 


Magee  expedition,  207,  217, 
224 

Gaines,  Colonel,  with  Long  ex- 
pedition, 254-257 

Gaines,  Myra  Clark,  91,  283 

Galveston,  Texas,  234,  259 

Galveston  Island,  home  of  pirate 
king,  257 

Gardoqui,  Senor,  30-32,  41 

Gates,  General,  20,  22 

Gayarre,  Mr.,  historian  of  Louis- 
iana, 65 

Gayoso  de  Lemos,  Don  Manuel, 
77,  121 

Genet,  Charles  Edmond  ("Citi- 
zen" Genet),  49-52,  55-61,  94, 
201,  204 

Georgia  Company,  75 

Georgia-Mississippi  Company,  75 

Giddings,  J.  R.,  281,  284,  287 

Gignoux,  — ,  associate  of  La 
Chaise,  52 

Godoy,  Manuel  de,  Prime  Min- 
ister of  Spain,  241 

Gonzalez,  General,  330,  331 

Gorthas,  Senorita  Anna,  married 
Ellis  Bean,  158-160 

Goss,  Captain,  176 

Grandpre,  Don  Carlos  de,  164, 166 

Grandpre,  Louis,  son  of  Gov- 
ernor Grandpre,  169 

Green,  Thomas,  40-42 

Green,  Thomas  Marshall,  45, 102, 
103 

Griswold,  — ,  Congressman  from 
Connecticut,  69 

Guion,  Major  Isaac,  109 

Gutierrez,  Bernardo,  Magee's  con- 
federate, 202-213,  217,  219-224, 
226,  252,  265 

HAMILTON,  Alexander,  83,  84 
Hammond,  Abner,  57 


Hammond,  Captain,  56 

Hammond,  Colonel  Samuel,  56 

Hargrove,  Major,  176-178 

Hawkins,  Colonel,  82 

Herrera,  — ,  Mexican  leader,  95, 
192,  208,  220 

Hidalgo,  Mexican  leader,  202, 
208 

Hildreth,  —  ,  historian,  66,  67 

Holmes,  Doctor,  175 

Hortons,  in  Kemper  raid,  166, 
170,  171 

Houghton,  Captain,  with  Texan- 
Santa  Fe*  Expedition,  300 

Howard,  — ,  with  Texan-Santa  Fe' 
Expedition,  311,  317 

Howland,  — ,  guide  with  Texan- 
Santa  Fe  Expedition,  304,  307, 
311,  320,  321 

Hudson,  Captain,  with  Texan- 
Santa  F£  Expedition,  300 

Hunt,  — ,  engineer  with  Texan- 
Santa  Fe  Expedition,  309 

INDIAN  slaves,  see  Exiles 

Ingham,  Congressman,  of  Con- 
necticut, 287 

Innes,  Harry,  35,  43,  44,  47,  55, 
174 

Innes,  James,  44 

Irving,  — ,  historian,  22 

Iturbide,  — ,  Mexican  leader,  271 

JACKSON,  Andrew,  228,  235,  242, 

283-285,  289,  290 
Jay,  William,  281,  288 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  Secretary  of 

State,  54,  55,  136,  248 
Jessup,  General,  in  Second  Semi- 

nole  War,  293,  29<t 
Johnson,  Captain,  with  Long  in 

Texas,  254,  262,  264 


344 


INDEX 


KEARNEY,  Lieutenant,  of  the  En- 
terprise, 259,  260 

Kemper,  Nathan,  165-170 

Kemper,  Reuben,  165-179,  183, 
186,  205,  209,  213,  214, 217-220, 
222,  223,  228,  232 

Kemper,  Samuel,  165,  167-171 

Kendall,  George  Wilkins,  302- 
336 

Kennedy,  Major,  174 

King,  John,  123 

Kneeland,  — ,  in  Kemper  raid, 
166,  170,  171 

LA  CHAISE,  Auguste,  52,  55 
Lafitte,  King  of  the  Baratarian 

pirates,    158,    234,    236,    254- 

260 
Lamar,   Mirabeau  B.,   243,  246, 

261,  299-302,  311 
Land-robbery,  69-77 
Las  Casses,  French  sloop-of-war, 

57 

Lausat,  — ,  French  agent,  89,  90 
Lewis,  Captain,  with  Texan-Santa 

Fe  Expedition,  300,  308,  311, 

315,  318-320,  322,  323 
Listen,    Mr.,    British    minister, 

67 
Livingston,    Mr.,    negotiator    in 

Louisiana  purchase,  162 
Long,  Dr.  and  Mrs. ,  240-247, 250- 

254,  257,  260-272 
Long,  David,  254,  263 
Loomis,  sailing-master,  285 
Louisiana,  Purchase  of  Territory, 

161-164,  248 

Love,  — ,  slave  dealer,  295 
Lynching,  the  original  practice, 

171 
Lynx,  U.  S.  revenue  patrol,  258, 

259 
Lyon, — ,  Congressman,  69 


MADELINE'S  story,  108-116,  243 
Madison,  President,  181-186 
Magee,  Augustus,  192,   194-217, 

222,  223,  227,  228,  232, 233, 239, 

251 
Manchaco,  — ,  ally  of  Gutierrez, 

224,  226-229 
Mangourit,  Michel  Ange  Bernard 

de,  51,  52,  59 
Maroons,  The,  see  Exiles 
Mathers,  James,  68 
Mathews,  Governor,  of  Georgia, 

57,  279 
Mathurin,  — ,  associate    of    La 

Chaise,  52 
Maury,  Captain,  of  the  Lynx,  258, 

259 
McAllister,  — ,'with  Texan-Santa 

Fe  Expedition,  328 
McDermott,  — ,  in  Kemper  raid, 

166,  170 
McGillivray,  Chief  of  the  Creeks, 

277 
McGillivray,  — ,  of  Georgia,  78, 

79 

McKim,  Captain,  with  Magee  ex- 
pedition, 205 
McLeod,  General,  commander  of 

Texan-Santa    Fe     Expedition, 

300,  307 
Mead,  Cowles,  94,  97,  98, 100, 101, 

109 

Medina,  Battle  of  the,  227,  264 
Merry,    Mr.,     British    minister, 

90 
Midkiff,  Miss,  married  EUis  Bean, 

160 

Milam,  — ,  Mexican  exile,  265 
Milton,  — ,  slave-driver,  292 
Mina,    Xavier,    234,    235,    237, 

238 
Miro,  Governor,  of  Louisiana,  26- 

39,  45-47,  61,  65,  107,  121 


INDEX 


345 


Mississippi  River,  Spanish  con- 
trol of,  24,  25,  61,  62 

"  Mobile  District,"  164, 174 

Morelos,  Jose'  Maria,  153-160, 208, 
209 

Morgan,  Colonel  George  D.,  31, 
32,  37,  38. 

Morier,  Mr.,  British  minister,  183, 
184 

Moultrie,  Governor,  of  South  Ca- 
rolina, 52,  174 

Muscle  Shoals  Island,  Tennessee 
River,  74 

NAPOLEON  in  Louisiana  transfer, 
162-164,  248  ;  estimate  of,  201 

Navarro,  J.  A.,  with  Texan-Santa 
Fe  Expedition,  300 

Navarro,  Martin,  36,  37 

Necoroco,  Comanche  Indian  chief, 
125,  126 

"Neutral  ground"  on  Texas- 
Louisiana  border,  95,  192-197, 
204,  230,  233,  247 

New  Madrid,  Louisiana  Territory, 
31 

Newspaper,  First,  in  Texas,  253 

Nichols,  Fort,  281,  283,  286 

Nichols,  Lieutenant,  in  British 
service,  281 

Nolan,  Philip,  107,  117-129,  131, 
132,  251 

O'FALLON,  Doctor,  74 

Ordelaffi,    Countess,    Story    of, 

267 

Ortiz,  — ,  Mexican  priest,  331 
Osman,  Colonel,  109 
Owen,  — ,  Wilkinson's  agent,  47 

PAXTON,  — ,  of  Georgia,  78,  79, 

82 
Paredes,  Colonel,  177 


Patterson,  Commodore,  285 

Penalvert  y  Cardenas,  Louis  de, 
Bishop  of  Louisiana,  86,  87 

Perez,  Colonel,  267 

Perry,  Captain,  with  Magee  ex- 
pedition, 205,  223, 226,  227, 231- 
235,  237-239. 

Pickett,  — ,  historian,  73,  163, 
169 

Pike,  Lieutenant  Zebulon,  104, 
248,  249 

Poindexter,  Mr.,  Representative 
from  Mississippi,  189,  190 

Powell,  — ,  historian,  93 

Power,  Thomas,  Carondelet's 
agent,  63,  64,  105-107 

QUAKERS     emancipated    slaves, 

278 
Quincy,   Josiah,    Representative 

from  Massachusetts,  186-190 
"  Quinta,  The,"  San  Antonio,  229, 

230 

RANDOLPH,  Edmund,  44,  57 

Randolph,  John,  105 

"  Republican  Army  of  the  North," 

202-230 

Reynolds,  Lieutenant,  295,  296 
Rhea,  John,  180,  181 
Richards,  Mordecai,  123 
Ritchie,  — ,  in  Kemper  raid,  166, 

170 

Robinson,  John,  232 
Rodney,  Judge,  168 
Rosalis,  Battle  of,  217,  218 
Rosenberry,  — ,  with  Texan-Santa 

Fe  Expedition,  307,  311,  321 
Ross,  Captain,  of  Mississippi,  205, 

223,  228 

SALAZAR,  Colonel,  312-315,  321, 
326-330 


346 


INDEX 


Salcedo,  Don  Manuel  de,  208, 
209,  211-214,  217-222 

Salcedo,  Nimesio,  128,  132 

San  Antonio,  Sufferings  of,  229, 
230,  232 

San  Lazaro,  Mexican  prison- 
hospital,  334,  335 

Santa  Anna,  provisional  president 
of  Mexico,  336 

Santa  Rosa,  Mexico,  Refuge  of 
Exiles,  297 

Sargent,  Governor,  119,  120 

Saunders,  Romulust  65 

Scott,  General,  in  Second  Semi- 
nole  War,  293,  336 

Scott,  Lieutenant,  288 

Seacoifee,  Chief  of  the  Creeks, 
275 

Sebastian,  Judge  Benjamin,  36, 
38,  44,  47,  55,  174 

Seminoles,  275-297 

Shaw,  Commodore,  95 

Shelby,  Governor  Isaac,  of  Ken- 
tucky, 54,  55,  57,  58,  174  ' 

Sibley,  Cyrus,  178 

Slave  trade,  The,  249, 273-297, 336 

Smith,  Major,  with  Long  in  Texas, 
254,  264 

*'  Soap  "  money,  334 

Soto  la  Marina,  at  mouth  of 
Satander  River,  237 

South  Carolina,  Yazoo  Company, 
73,  74 

"  Spanish  Conspiracy, "Green,  45 

St.  Clair,  General,  46 

Strain,  Captain,  with  Texan-Santa 
Fe  Expedition,  300 

Sullivan,  — ,  Revolutionary  vet- 
eran, 43 

Sutton,  Captain,  with  Texan- 
Santa  Fe  Expedition,  300,  308 

Swan,  Lieutenant,  98 

Sydney,  Lord,  45 


TAYLOR,    Captain    Joseph,   with 

Magee    expedition,    205,    219, 

220,  222,  226,  227 
Taylor,  General,  in  Second  Semi- 

nole  War,  293,  294,  336 
Telfair,  Governor  of  Georgia,  72 
Tennessee  Company,  73-75 
Texan-Santa  Fe  Expedition,  298- 

336 

Thatcher,  Mr.,  of  Boston,  67 
Titles,  Military,  266 
Toledo,    General    Jose    Alvarez, 

226,  227,  232,  235,  266 
Towles,  Doctor,  167 
Treaty  between  United  States  and 

Spain,  1795,  61,  62 
Trespalachios,  — ,  Mexican  exile, 

265,  266 
Tuskegee,  site  of  Fort  Tolouse, 

82 

VAN  NESS,  George,  with  Texan- 
Santa  Fe  Expedition,  311,  318 
Venegas,  Mexican  viceroy,  225 
Vick,  — ,  founder  of  Vicksburg, 

247 

Vicksburg,  Beginnings  of,  247 
Victoria,  Mexican  rebel,  208 
Vidal,  Senor,  119,  122 
Vigil,  Don  Gregorio,  315 
Virginia  Yazoo  Company,  73 

WALKER,  Captain,  with  Long  in 

Texas,  254,  262,  264 
Washington,    President,   73,   74, 

76,  83,  84 

Waters,  Tony,  134-137 
Watson,  — ,  slave  dealer,  295 
Whiskey  tax,  85 
Wilkinson,  James,  17,  19-23,  25- 

39,  43-48,  53,  55,  60-65,  83-85, 

89-109,  119-122,  174,  192,  194, 

195,  201,  204,  252 


INDEX 


347 


Wilkinson,  Jennie,  see  Long,  Dr. 


and  Mrs. 
Willbanks, 

Bowles,  79 
Williamson, 

agent,  90 

Wilson,  Lieutenant,  167 
Wirt,  William,  115,  172 


confederate    of 
Aaron    Burr's 


Wolstoncroft,  Major,  195 
Worth,  General,  in  Second  Semi- 
nole  War,  293 

"  YAZOO  ACT,"  76 

Yoakum's  history  of  Texas,  131, 

216 
Yruzo,  Minister,  92 


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